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Kingdom Hearts Collection Key Art Flagged for Possible AI Use

The apparent errors in official box art threaten to deepen scrutiny of Square Enix’s stated interest in generative AI.

Overview

  • Official Kingdom Hearts Collection key art published during the Nintendo Direct on Tuesday, June 9 drew immediate fan attention for visual oddities that suggest generative-AI artifacts.
  • The clearest anomaly is Donald Duck showing a mismatched finger count—five on one hand and four on the other—which appears in images posted to Square Enix and the Kingdom Hearts account.
  • Community analysts also pointed out background defects such as warped architecture, impossible chains, fuzzy linework, and missing shoe treads that match common AI upscaling or generation errors.
  • Several experienced fans and an online artist argued the underlying illustration looks like Tetsuya Nomura’s hand-drawn work but said AI may have been used later to separate, upscale, or composite elements for final press assets.
  • Square Enix has not yet responded to media requests and the disputed images remain in official press materials, a situation that could prompt calls for clearer disclosure of AI use in game promotion and design.