Ubisoft has issued an apology to players of Anno 117: Pax Romana and confirmed that it will replace a loading screen image that was generated using artificial intelligence. The company emphasised that the image was only meant to serve as temporary placeholder material but “accidentally passed through” internal review procedures and was mistakenly included in the final release.
Although the Steam page for Anno 117: Pax Romana clearly marks the game as “containing AI-generated content”—making it the first Ubisoft title to disclose such content openly—many players expressed dissatisfaction with the loading image. They questioned why a paid AAA game from a top-tier developer would exhibit such low-quality art.
The controversial image exhibits multiple typical traits of AI-generated artwork, including distorted or disproportionate facial features, missing limbs, and illogical scene elements. Although the post-edited version looks significantly improved, some players remain unhappy that the artwork is based on prompt-generated output rather than original artistry.
One frustrated player said,
“If they insist on using cheap tools in the game, then I’ll just wait until the game becomes cheap to buy.”
Another left a negative review on Steam:
“I don’t want to live in a future where large studios choose AI-generated images—effectively ‘stealing’ artists’ labour—even though they can easily afford professionals. AI tools harm the environment, disrupt creative jobs, and produce low-quality visuals. In a game that should be beautiful to look at, this image is nothing short of visual pollution.”
In response, Ubisoft told Kotaku:
“This image was placeholder material that was mistakenly approved. We have attached the final version of the image, which will replace the current one in the upcoming Patch 1.3. Anno 117: Pax Romana is the most ambitious entry in the Anno series to date, and we assembled the largest art team in series history for it. To manage the project’s unique scale, the team uses AI tools in supportive roles during iteration, prototyping, and concept exploration. But every detail ultimately presented to players reflects our team’s craftsmanship, artistic skill, and creative vision.”
However, the controversy does not end with the image assets. Some players have noted that the game’s localisation text also appears to exhibit signs of AI-generated text.
Reddit user u/Taubenangriff shared multiple examples suggesting that a machine generated the German translation. He criticised:
“It’s obvious that no one familiar with the Anno series took part in the localisation. Large portions of the text are still low-grade AI-generated ‘trash.’ Even worse, the project received €6 million in cultural funding from the German government, yet the final result shows blatant disrespect for the German language.”
Notably, the user had raised concerns about the German localisation two months earlier, but the issues remain unresolved.
Anno 117: Pax Romana is developed by Ubisoft Blue Byte and was officially revealed in June 2024 as the latest entry in the long-running economic simulation and city-building franchise.
The above content is compiled by ModeZone, a fashion and entertainment magazine.
