The promo image in question, seen in its original context. (credit: WotC)

Magic: the Gathering (MtG) maker Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has apologized after admitting it made a “mistake” in publishing a promotional image that included artwork at least partially generated using artificial intelligence tools. The admission comes despite a WotC policy barring the use of AI in its art, and the controversy has already caused at least one MtG artist to publicly announce that he is “done” with the company.

The promo image in question was posted in a now-deleted (but still archived) social media post last Thursday, showing five new “retro frame” versions of lands from the upcoming Ravnica Remastered set in a nondescript steampunk-style laboratory. While the image looks unobjectionable at first glance, careful viewers soon zoomed in on specific and incongruous background details in the lab that showed telltale errors common to some AI image generators. (The human authorship of the art on the cards themselves, it should be noted, has not yet come under question.)

“created by humans” Right… pic.twitter.com/gf9TUXWSPA

— TaylorGreen (@GreenSkyDragon) January 5, 2024

The suggestion that AI art tools were used in a promo image is particularly sensitive for Wizards of the Coast, which has relied on hundreds of human artists to generate tens of thousands of iconic images for its Magic cards and its Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) products over the years. Last August, when a longtime D&D artist was found to be using AI tools for commissioned pieces, WotC said that it was “updating our artist guidelines to make clear that artists must refrain from using AI art generation as part of their art creation process for developing D&D art.”