《Different Worlds》 Weather Child AI Controversy Cheat Sheet: Behind a VTuber’s Furious Withdrawal from Commercials Is a Dilemma for Game Developers

Chinese mobile game “Yihuan” caused some VTubers and voice actors to boycott after hiding the use of AI-generated plagiarized content. 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 Child 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, some players gradually discovered that the game contained materials suspected of being created with 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 the animated film “Weathering with You” by Makoto Shinkai, suspected of applying AI filters or using AI to generate the image. Additionally, players found a short film lasting 18 minutes within a game quest, suspected to be AI-generated, and noticed unnatural distortions in character clothing during movement obstructions.

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 factor igniting the community’s outrage is the developer’s concealment of AI use from partners and the copyright disputes, which was exposed by collaborating VTubers. The use of AI-generated content itself has become 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 the case, and they immediately terminated their commercial cooperation with the game.

Another VTuber, Shylily, also ended her game 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 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 small portion of 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 it does not affect the development team’s rights and work, 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, the integration of generative AI into game development has become an irreversible industry trend, but whether it is used in early development or directly embedded into game content varies among companies.

One camp embraces AI; for example, “Victory Goddess: Niki” developer Shift Up 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 concept artist, he often shares AI-generated works on personal social media, though reactions from netizens are polarized.

The more cautious camp, such as Capcom, the developer of the “Resident Evil” series, has explicitly stated that, “AI-generated content will not be directly incorporated into the game, 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 and save the effort of brainstorming hundreds of thousands of objects in large games, but all 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 absolutely not let AI handle in-game writing content. “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, “because AI is widely used in the industry now. 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 highlights the dilemma game companies face when generative AI still sparks significant 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; if they remain 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 (and possibly using AI to generate images similar to “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 faces AI face swap? Nvidia DLSS 5 uses “Resident Evil 9” to showcase, drawing heavy criticism from players and support from tech experts