Nexon responds to backlash surrounding The First Descendant AI-generated TikTok ads

Fans recently spotted that free-to-play looter shooter The First Descendant was seemingly being advertised on TikTok using AI-generated ads, some of which appeared to feature clones of real-world creators. Nexon has now responded, stating it is investigating the situation.

The details:

• Last week, several instances of strange advertisements for The First Descendant began appearing on the For You pages of fans over on TikTok, eventually being shared on Reddit by user iHardlyTriHard. The videos featured various “people,” all of whom had uncanny movements and were not synced to the rather unnatural audio, with one video featuring an AI-generated person that seemingly used the likeness of content creator DanieltheDemon.
• While many players were unsurprisingly disgusted by Nexon’s use of AI, even stating that the videos look like scam ads, others focused on the use of DanieltheDemon’s image. The creator has since commented on a TikTok post about the video by Game Central, stating that Nexon had "stole" his face and reactions from another viral video without permission.
• Nexon has since responded to the backlash, but the statement has raised new questions and does not include an apology. The company has said that it is currently "investigating" the situation with TikTok to "determine the facts." “We would like to inform you of certain irregularities identified in the operation of our TikTok Creative Challenge for creators,” the publisher wrote. “As a part of our marketing campaign for Season 3: Breakthrough, we recently ran a Creative Challenge program for TikTok creators, which allows creators to voluntarily submit their content to be used as advertising materials. All submitted videos are verified through TikTok’s system to check copyright violations before they are approved as advertising content. However, we have become aware of cases where the circumstances surrounding the production of certain submitted videos appear inappropriate.”