Summary
Wizards of the Coasthas doubled down on its stance against AI art in twin statements fromDungeons and DragonsandMagic: The Gathering. These declarations came fromWizards of the Coastafter a controversy involving art that was erroneously identified as AI-generated in a recentDungeons and Dragonsannouncement.
AI art has become a big topic recently as the tools to create it have gotten more mainstream. Wizards of the Coast has already encountered this problem once when AI-generated art was found inBigby Presents: Glory of Giants. After its discovery,Dungeons and Dragonsreplaced the artworkwith human-made pieces and amended its future contracts to forbid AI art.
Now, Wizards of the Coast has put out twin statements via bothDungeons and DragonsandMagic: The Gatheringdenouncing the use of AI for art and writing in products from both franchises. These statements mirror one another, claiming the games are built on “innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of talented people who sculpt a beautiful, creative game.” It goes on to say all of its creative contributors must refrain from using AI tools, and that those guidelines will not be changing.
These statements from Wizards of the Coast were sparked by a controversy surrounding one of its recent pieces of artwork used to announce the upcomingDungeons and Dragonsrevisions in 2024. Many fans and critics believed the art was made using AI, but artist Nestor Ossandon confirmed via Wizards of the Coast and independent journalists that it was hand-drawn, even providing work-in-progress sketches to prove it.
Most fans ofDungeons and DragonsandMagic: The Gatheringare happy to see Wizards of the Coast commit to its words. The use of AI in games and other media has been a contentious subject, and one that is rightfully scorned by artists and writers alike. Given the bad blood sparked by therecent Wizards of the Coast layoffsand other controversies from this year, most agree the last thing it needs to do now is add more by using AI in its products.
However, many aren’t convinced by Wizards of the Coast’s statements. These fans pointed out that Wizards of the Coast specified their contributors couldn’t use these tools for final products, implying they could theoretically be used for concept art or earlier stages. This mistrust is unfortunately well-earned from Wizards of the Coast’s actions during theD&DOGL controversy andtheMTGPinkerton incident, both of which created a lot of bad faith for the company. It is no exaggeration to say Wizards of the Coast has a lot of work to do to fully clear its name with its fans.
Dungeons and Dragons
Created by Gary Gygax, Dungeons & Dragons is a tabletop game in which players craft their own worlds and band together to take on adventures through mysterious realms outlined in companion materials. One of the best role-playing games ever made, it has been adapted into a variety of video games and other media.
