RuneScape dev apologises after RuneFest debut of an AI-generated six-fingered character: ‘That’s pretty hard to explain away’

RuneScape developer Jagex descended upon Birmingham (the British one, not the Alabama one) over the weekend with its annual RuneFest. As part of its RuneScape keynote, it showed off a trailer for its upcoming Dragon Slayer 2 quest which, er, featured a player character with six fingers and a bizarre sneaker-like sole on their very not-sneaker armoured shoes.

It didn’t take long for posts on social media to point out what was undeniably generative AI, and an incident which, unfortunately for Jagex, came very swiftly after another genAI controversy surrounding its clothing collaboration with 100 Thieves just days before.

Despite the trailer being for RS3, Old School RuneScape’s Alec ‘Mod Sween’ Sween took the lead on releasing a statement on the 2007scape subreddit addressing the situation. “We’re aware of the concerns raised about the Dragon Slayer 2 trailer and have taken it down, while we investigate this urgently,” he wrote. “This trailer was produced by a trusted external partner who had explicitly confirmed that GenAI would not be used. But, among other things, there’s a sixth finger and, well, that’s pretty hard to explain away. For that we apologise.”

Similar to his statement after the 100 Thieves incident, Sween reiterated Jagex’s stance. “Our position is clear at Jagex: we don’t use GenAI to create our games, artwork or creative assets, and will not knowingly allow it to be used on our behalf. This is the second time in quick succession that concerns about generative AI have arisen through partners we trusted, and for us that highlights an issue with our own processes which we must address.”