Phantom Blade Zero Developer Rejects AI-Generative Content, While The Expanse: Osiris Reborn Developer Uses It

Owlcat, the Cyprus-based studio behind Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, and Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, confirmed during a press briefing tied to The Expanse: Osiris Reborn's release and beta announcements that it uses generative AI during development. The confirmation came in response to a direct question put to PR manager Katharina Popp.

"We don't use it to create any assets that will be in the game. We use it a lot for prototyping, trying things out, placeholders. They will all be replaced at the end."

— Katharina Popp

Popp specified that the AI use covers technical iteration: checking how a 2D image translates into 3D space, adjusting colors, and accelerating internal processes. Writing and voice acting fall outside that scope entirely. No AI voice actors appear in the project, and Popp stated that everything reaching the final build will be produced by human hands.

This is not the first time Owlcat has faced the question directly. In 2024, a job listing for a concept artist described one of the role's tasks as "concept generation using AI and other modern tools." A screenshot of the vacancy spread through the X account of someone who had been interested in the position, drawing immediate criticism. The response from Owlcat acknowledged the listing and described AI as a tool for early creative search and vision coordination before formal concept development begins — not for producing finished work.

"The final version of the game will not have any art generated by the neural networks. The same goes for the final concepts. Everything will be original and drawn by professional artists. On our current projects, Rogue Trader and Pathfinder, AI was not used at all."

— Owlcat

Later, they tried to calm down a second round of backlash with a follow-up statement ruling out any replacement of artists with neural networks. All art in Owlcat's games, it said, including concepts and character portraits, comes exclusively from professional artists. The unannounced project referenced in those exchanges was eventually revealed as The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, more than a year after that conversation took place.

I think the boundary Owlcat has drawn — generative AI for scaffolding, human artists for everything that ships — is a defensible one, though it requires the studio to hold that line through a full production cycle.

Phantom Blade Zero developer S-Game has rejected gen-AI at every stage. In a statement released April 10, CEO Qiwei Liang confirmed that every piece of content in that game was built by human artists: character models derived from 3D scans of real people, weapons forged by actual swordsmiths before motion capture sessions, and in-game maps drawn by hand using Chinese brushes and rice paper by artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

"We will not use AI visual tech that could alter our artists' original creative intent."

— Liang, Phantom Balde Zero.

That contrast captures where the debate currently sits. S-Game has drawn the hardest possible line. Owlcat has drawn a line that permits gen-AI during development but promises its removal before release. I see more studios landing in Owlcat's position as production timelines tighten, with the credibility of that position hinging on whether the placeholders actually get replaced.

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn is scheduled for spring 2027 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox Series S/X. A closed beta demo for pre-purchase players arrives next month, and the game launches day one on Game Pass Ultimate. Owlcat has been open about drawing from BioWare's Mass Effect as a structural reference — cover-based combat, squad commands, romance mechanics, dialogue systems, and RPG customization are all present. The distinguishing factor is the game's grounding in the Expanse book series and its well-regarded Syfy television adaptation, which pushes toward realistic technology rather than the biotic abilities that defined BioWare's franchise.

CAPCOM took a comparable position in March, announcing it would not implement AI-generated assets into its games after controversy surrounding DLSS 5 in Resident Evil Requiem pushed the question into public view.

Read also, Pearl Abyss confirmed on March 22 that Crimson Desert shipped containing AI-generated images that were never cleared for the final build, describing them as placeholder assets from early production that were not replaced before release. The studio issued a public statement taking full responsibility and acknowledged the inclusion fell below its own internal standards.