If its use of generative AI to produce Call of Duty assets wasn’t bad enough, Activision is using the controversial tech to create adverts for fake games based on its IPs. It’s been noticed how the publisher is advertising on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram for Crash Bandicoot Brawl, Guitar Hero Mobile, and Call of Duty: Zombie Defender — that is despite the fact they don’t actually exist.
The promotional images have been created using AI, and since the games aren’t actually in development, clicking on the store links associated with them takes you through to surveys to complete. “This isn’t a real game, but could be some day,” reads the message. “We’d love if you could answer this short survey, which could help inform the potential future of this game. Your feedback really matters to us!”
Users are asked questions concerning why they clicked on the advert, what attracted them to it, what kinds of games they play, their expectations of the prospective experience based on the advert, and why they play games on a mobile phone.
Crash Bandicoot Brawl pitches itself as “a fast-paced, round survival game where 30+ contestants compete against one another in wacky platforming, puzzle-solving, and obstacle course challenges”. Meanwhile, Call of Duty: Zombie Defender is said to be “a top-down, tactical mobile defense game where players build defenses and fight off waves of zombies in an iconic, post-apocalyptic world”. Neither of them is real, however, and the assets relating to them have been made using AI.
Activision appears to be fully embracing AI production, as it recently confirmed some assets in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 — such as Calling Cards — are created using the tech. The most infamous was a six-fingered zombie Santa Claus.
How do you feel about this latest use of AI in the games industry, this time from a marketing viewpoint? Share all your thoughts in the comments below.
