Slay The Spire 2 Is Choosing “Shit” Art Over Generative AI
The gaming industry’s growing reliance on generative AI for creating placeholder art has become a contentious issue, with multiple studios facing public backlash after their use of AI-generated assets was discovered. Major developers including Larian Studios, Pearl Abyss, and Sandfall Interactive have all either intentionally incorporated AI-generated content or unintentionally included it in their titles, each facing significant negative publicity as a result.
In a notable contrast to this trend, Slay the Spire 2 is deliberately choosing to avoid generative AI for its artwork, instead opting for hand-created art despite potential imperfections. This decision reflects a broader shift within segments of the gaming community that view AI-generated placeholder art as problematic and prefer authentic, human-made creative work—even when that work might be considered rough or unpolished compared to heavily optimized alternatives.
The gaming industry’s pursuit of optimization and perfection has increasingly led studios to justify AI art use as a temporary solution, but the repeated PR disasters stemming from these decisions suggest developers are starting to reconsider. Slay the Spire 2’s approach signals that for some studios, maintaining player trust and authenticity may be more valuable than achieving a particular aesthetic standard through generative AI tools.