"Different Worlds" Weather Child AI Controversy Cheat Sheet: Behind the VTuber's Furious Withdrawal from Commercials Is a Dilemma for Game Developers

China’s mobile game Yihuan has triggered resistance from some VTubers and voice actors after it was reported to have concealed the use of allegedly plagiarized AI materials. This article provides a complete rundown of the AI-related controversies surrounding Yihuan. The incident also reflects the dilemmas game companies face when it comes to how to handle generative AI in terms of public opinion and copyright.

Yihuan’s “Weathering with You” AI filter controversy—everything from start to finish in one go

At the end of April this year, after Chinese developer Hotta Studio released the open-world mobile game Yihuan, it exceeded 1.5 million viewing hours on Twitch on its first day after launch. However, some players gradually noticed that the game appeared to contain materials allegedly created using generative AI.

The spark for the AI controversy in Yihuan came from an in-game promotional poster: the poster image is highly similar to a BD/DVD bonus from Makoto Shinkai’s animated film Weathering with You, raising suspicions that an AI filter was applied or that AI was used to fabricate an imitation. In addition, players found that one game mission included a short film lasting as long as 18 minutes, suspected to have been generated by AI, and when character outfits were partially obscured during movements, unnatural deformation also appeared.

If the issue were merely that AI-generated content was inserted into the game, then the controversy might have played out like in the past—sparking debates between players who support AI and those who oppose it. But the key factor that ignited outrage in the Yihuan AI controversy was that the developer concealed from its partner the fact that AI was used, along with related copyright disputes—an issue that was exposed and then “kicked up” by the collaborating VTubers. In that context, using AI-generated materials by itself became a secondary problem.

After learning of this, well-known VTuber Ironmouse quickly accused Hotta Studio’s team of lying, saying that the official had previously guaranteed that the Yihuan mobile game would absolutely not use AI generation technology—but the facts were not so. She then immediately terminated the game’s commercial collaboration.

Another VTuber, Shylily, also ended her game livestream early, stressing that AI usage that profits from others’ works without the creators’ consent is highly controversial. The voice actor Meggie-Elise for Yihuan also stated that she does not support using generative AI in creative fields, and demanded that the official address the issue; otherwise, the collaboration would be stopped.

Yihuan Responds to the AI Controversy, Promises to Rework Controversial Materials

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

The statement said that the core of Yihuan—including the characters and the story—is entirely built on human creativity, and it specifically referenced the summer-sky poster that was highly similar to Weathering with You—along with the scene of the pink cat robbing assets that community users questioned—adding that the company is remaking those elements and removing the related AI components.

Image source: X/NTE Global

Yihuan producer Yang Lei previously made a public promise that the game’s core content would not touch AI technology. The latest official statement also tried to calm players’ anger and promised to continue listening to player feedback. The player community’s reactions are split into two camps: one side believes that as long as AI use does not affect the development team’s rights and interests, moderate use of generative AI is fine; the other side insists on boycotting games that include AI materials, criticizing upper management for lacking transparency in advance.

Generative AI entering game development has become a trend, but the ways it’s used differ

However, adopting generative AI in game development has become an irreversible industry trend. Still, whether companies use it in early development or directly insert AI-generated products into game content varies from one publisher to another.

For the pro-AI camp—such as Shift Up, the developer of Goddess of Victory: Nikke—CEO Kim Hyung-tae believes that Korean studios must significantly improve efficiency, so that 1 person can complete the workload of 100 people, and that reliance on AI technology is necessary to have a chance to compete with Chinese and American developers. As an illustrator himself, he also often shares AI-generated works in his personal community, though netizens’ reactions remain polarized.

The more cautious camp—such as Capcom, developer of the Resident Evil series—has stated clearly that it will not put AI-generated content directly into games; instead, it will use AI as an auxiliary technology to improve productivity. Capcom’s technical director, Abe Kazuki, revealed that the company has already built an idea-generation system internally to help art directors quickly narrow focus and save the process of brainstorming tens of thousands of object ideas in large games, but in the end, the content is still completed by humans themselves.

Image source: Google Cloud Capcom Technical Director Abe Kazuki

The Baldur’s Gate series developer, Larian Studios, also tested AI text generation technology, but writing director Adam Smith came forward to guarantee that the team will absolutely never let AI touch the writing content inside the game. Because the quality of text produced by AI today is extremely poor—at most it can score 3 out of 10—and it completely cannot meet the requirements for story quality.

However, Daniel Vávra, game director of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, urged anti-AI players to face reality, because widespread use of AI in the industry is already a fact. If AI can help developers free themselves from tedious, repetitive tasks and focus on core creative work, then the benefits would outweigh the drawbacks.

Related reports:
Divinity developers will use AI, sparking backlash from players! Larian clarifies: no layoffs as a result

Is AI stench unbearable? Larian: The quality of AI-generated text is terrible, so it will not be used in Divinity

To say or not to say? The Yihuan AI controversy reflects a dilemma for game companies

The AI controversy around Yihuan also reflects that game companies are caught in a dilemma: when generative AI still faces huge controversy in entertainment and art, under the pressure of the market and public opinion, should they “admit that they use AI first,” or “keep silent”?

If they disclose it upfront, it may trigger criticism from anti-AI communities; but it also allows players to freely choose whether to keep playing that game. If they don’t say anything and are discovered later, the barrage of anti-AI public opinion could intensify, potentially harming the game’s reputation or causing the discussion to lose focus.

But Yihuan chose a third route: it publicly claimed to the outside—and to its partner companies—that it does not use AI, yet in reality it does (and it was suspected of using AI to generate images similar to Weathering with You). Judging by the outcome, it was a bad decision. Rather than doing it this way, it would have been better to be transparent from the beginning—at least to protect the company’s credibility.

Further reading:
Did Grace turn into an AI face? Nvidia DLSS 5 demonstrates using Resident Evil 9, drawing heavy criticism while tech insiders come to its defense