Stellar Blade: Blood Rain’s AI music video should be viewed with “understanding in mind”, says studio boss
Shift Up, developer of the action game Stellar Blade, released an AI-generated music video to promote its upcoming sequel, Stellar Blade: Blood Rain, sparking significant backlash from the community.
The video, uploaded to Shift Up’s official YouTube channel in late July, features the game’s protagonist EVIE singing an original song titled “Wanna be in Love.” The AI-generated content exhibits multiple quality issues, including nonsensical lyrics, graphical warping, distorted character rendering, and robotic vocal performances, with players immediately criticizing the result as soulless and poorly executed.
The release drew swift criticism from players questioning why a profitable studio—Shift Up also operates Nikke: Goddess of Victory, a successful gacha title—would release promotional material that appears to lack artistic effort or investment. Players expressed frustration that the company chose AI generation over professional production.
Shift Up’s CEO responded on social media, asking players to view the video “with understanding in mind.” However, the CEO’s defense—emphasizing that “the AI is not creating Evie from scratch”—appeared to miss the core complaint. Critics argue the issue isn’t the technical implementation but rather the fundamental disconnect between the studio’s financial resources and its decision to release what players characterized as “AI slop” that substitutes convenience for genuine creative effort.
The incident highlights broader industry tensions around generative AI in game marketing, with players increasingly skeptical when AI appears chosen for cost-cutting rather than creative necessity.