Key information
RuneScape developer Jagex held its annual RuneFest in Birmingham over the weekend. During the RuneScape keynote, the studio presented a trailer for the upcoming Dragon Slayer 2 quest that featured a player character possessing six fingers and unusual sneaker-like soles on armoured shoes.
Social media users quickly identified the anomalies as generative AI. This incident occurred shortly after another generative AI controversy involving a clothing collaboration with 100 Thieves just days prior.
Alec 'Mod Sween' Sween from Old School RuneScape issued a statement on the subreddit addressing the community. Sween stated that they removed the trailer while investigating urgently, noting that an external partner produced it despite confirming generative AI would not be used. Sween remarked that the sixth finger was hard to explain away and offered an apology.
Sween reiterated that Jagex does not use generative AI for games, artwork, or creative assets, nor will they knowingly allow partners to do so. Sween added that the recurrence highlights internal process issues that need addressing. Jagex is currently overhauling its review process and plans to work with community creators for Dragon Slayer 2 storytelling.
Sween acknowledged that the team should have caught these errors, stating they did not perform well enough and cannot place the blame entirely elsewhere.
