Overview
- Retail listings began switching to the Japanese “OG” box art on June 22, with sites such as Amazon showing the original image while others still display the contested western cover.
- Fans and community analysts first raised the issue after noticing visual anomalies on the overseas art, including misrendered fingers, warped backgrounds, and odd character positions that resemble generative-AI or upscaling artifacts.
- Square Enix has not issued a public explanation and the company storefront still shows the disputed image in some places, suggesting the company is handling updates quietly rather than addressing the accusations openly.
- Independent researchers and a prominent Bluesky user proposed that Tetsuya Nomura’s original illustration may have been composited or run through AI tools to reposition characters, a theory that remains unconfirmed.
- The incident matters commercially and reputationally because the Collection and related Kingdom Hearts releases are scheduled for October 8, 2026, and the episode underscores broader calls for clearer disclosure when AI tools are used in commercial art.