I’ve lived through many Call of Duty controversies, from MW2’s No Russian mission to loot box overload. Still, few have arrived as swiftly, or as on zeitgeist, as the discovery that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s calling cards appear to include generative AI artwork. What began as a handful of screenshots on launch day has quickly spiralled into a wider debate about transparency, value, and the future of human-made art in blockbuster games.
Many of the game’s calling cards display the kind of visual tics that seasoned artists can spot at a glance: fingers that don’t quite add up, characters whose faces drift slightly off-model, and backgrounds that feel too synthetic to belong to a studio known for its polish.
