Publisher Aspyr has firmly denied allegations that AI-generated assets were used in the controversial new outfits for Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered, stating that the designs were crafted entirely by their in-house artists. This response comes after a wave of criticism from the gaming community regarding the quality of the latest free update.
Following the release of the patch last week, players took to social media to express their disappointment, highlighting issues such as melting sunglasses, clipping accessories, pixelated textures, and what they described as nonsensical symbols. One fan remarked, "Even though it's free, this level of quality is simply unacceptable." The backlash was so intense that lead artist Giovanni Lucca quickly clarified on X/Twitter that he and the original developers at Saber were not involved in the art direction for this update.
In a statement posted on BlueSky, Aspyr acknowledged the feedback and emphasized, "The outfits in the update were created by our team of artists. No AI generated assets were used." The company also announced that their top priority is now to release a patch addressing texture problems and technical bugs, with plans for further updates to resolve issues across all platforms.
However, many fans remain unconvinced. Responses ranged from accusations of dishonesty, with one user stating, "Lie all you want, we aren't stupid," to critiques of the design quality itself, such as, "Okay, so if the outfits weren't AI, they're just hideous." Some pointed to the patch's key art as evidence of AI use, adding to the skepticism.
Aspyr has yet to provide a timeline for the upcoming patch but promised to share more details soon. This incident follows previous controversies, including Crystal Dynamics' sensitivity warning about racial prejudices in the original games and Aspyr's apology for inadvertently removing Lara Croft pinup posters.
In other Tomb Raider news, a new installment, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, is set to launch next year, marking the first new entry since Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018, which concluded the trilogy from the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One era.
