“Different Worlds” Weather Child AI Controversy Cheat Sheet: Behind the VTuber’s Furious Withdrawal from Commercials Is the Game Publisher’s Dilemma

Chinese mobile game “Yihuan” caused some VTubers and voice actors to boycott after hiding the use of AI-generated plagiarized materials. This article will comprehensively organize the controversy over AI generation in “Yihuan,” which also reflects the difficulties game developers face in handling generative AI in public opinion and copyright issues.

Yihuan’s Weather Girl AI Filter Controversy, A Complete Overview

At the end of April this year, Chinese developer Hotta Studio launched the open-world mobile game “Yihuan,” which surpassed 1.5 million watch hours on Twitch on its first day. However, players gradually discovered that the game contained materials suspected to be created using generative AI.

The trigger for the AI controversy in “Yihuan” originated from a promotional poster in the game, which closely resembles a BD/DVD bonus from Makoto Shinkai’s animated film “Weathering with You,” suspected of applying AI filters or using AI to generate the image. Additionally, players found a short video, about 18 minutes long, in a game quest that appeared to be AI-generated, with character costumes showing unnatural distortions when obscured by movement.

If it were simply about inserting AI-generated content into the game, the controversy might have remained as a debate between AI supporters and opponents, but the key issue that ignited the community was the developer hiding the use of AI from partners and the copyright disputes, which was exposed by collaborating VTubers. The use of AI-generated content alone became a secondary issue.

Well-known VTuber Ironmouse quickly accused Hotta Studio of lying after learning about this, stating that the official had promised that the “Yihuan” mobile game would definitely not use AI generation technology, but this was not true, and the game’s commercial cooperation was immediately terminated.

Another VTuber, Shylily, also ended her game live stream early, emphasizing that using AI to profit from works without creator consent is highly controversial; Meggie-Elise, who voiced “Yihuan,” also stated she does not support the use of generative AI in creative fields and demanded the official address the issue, or they would cease cooperation.

Yihuan Responds to AI Controversy, Promises to Re-Create the Controversial Materials

Faced with strong backlash, Hotta Studio issued an emergency statement, admitting that AI-assisted tools were used during development, while emphasizing that only a few background and environmental materials involved AI technology.

The statement pointed out that, “The core aspects of ‘Yihuan,’ such as characters and story, are entirely based on human creativity,” and specifically addressed the poster resembling “Weathering with You” and the pink cat heist scene that the community questioned, stating they are in the process of re-creating and removing related AI elements.

Image source: X/NTE Global

“Yihuan” producer Yang Lei publicly promised that the core content of the game would not involve AI technology. The latest official statement also aims to calm player anger and promises to continue listening to feedback. The player community’s reactions are mixed: some believe that as long as AI does not affect the rights of the development team, moderate use of generative AI is acceptable; others insist on boycotting games containing AI materials and criticize the lack of transparency from management beforehand.

Generative AI Has Become a Trend in Game Development, But Approaches Vary

However, integrating generative AI into game development has become an irreversible trend in the industry, but whether it is used in early development or directly embedded into game content varies among companies.

One camp embraces AI, like Shift Up, the developer of “Victory Goddess: Niki,” whose CEO Kim Hyung-tae believes that Korean studios must significantly improve efficiency, enabling one person to do the work of 100, relying on AI technology to compete with Chinese and American developers. As a character artist, he often shares AI-generated works on his personal social media, though reactions from netizens are polarized.

The more cautious camp, like Capcom, the developer of the “Resident Evil” series, has explicitly stated that AI-generated content will not be directly incorporated into games, but AI will be used as an assistive technology to improve productivity. Capcom’s technical director, Abe Kazuki, revealed that the company has built a concept generation system internally to help art directors focus quickly, saving the effort of brainstorming hundreds of thousands of objects in large games, but final content is still created manually by humans.

Image source: Google Cloud Capcom Technical Director Abe Kazuki

“Baldur’s Gate” series developer Larian Studios also tested AI text generation technology, but lead writer Adam Smith assured that the team would never let AI handle in-game writing content. Because currently, AI-produced text quality is extremely poor, scoring at most 3 out of 10, and cannot meet the quality requirements for storytelling.

However, “Kingdom Come: Deliverance” game director Daniel Vávra urged anti-AI players to face reality, stating that AI is already widely used in the industry, and if AI can help developers free themselves from tedious tasks and focus on core creation, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Related reports:
Divinity developer to use AI, sparks player backlash! Larian clarifies: no layoffs due to this

AI smell is unbearable? Larian: AI-generated text quality is terrible, won’t be used in Divinity

To Say or Not to Say? “Yihuan” AI Controversy Reflects Developers’ Dilemma

The controversy over AI in “Yihuan” also reflects the dilemma game companies face when generative AI still sparks huge debate in entertainment art: whether to “disclose their AI use first” or “stay silent.”

If they disclose first, they might face backlash from anti-AI communities, but it also allows players to choose whether to continue playing the game; if they stay silent and are exposed later, the anti-AI criticism could intensify, possibly damaging the game’s reputation or derailing discussions.

However, “Yihuan” chose a third path: to claim publicly and to partners that they do not use AI, while secretly using it (including suspected AI-generated images from “Weathering with You”). In hindsight, this was a poor decision—better to have been honest from the start, at least preserving the company’s integrity.

Further reading:
Grace’s face turned AI? Nvidia DLSS 5 uses “Resident Evil 9” to showcase, sparking heavy criticism from players and tech experts defending it