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Shift Up CEO Defends AI‑Rendered Stellar Blade Promo as Fans Attack Flawed Video

The studio says in-house AI merely rendered artist-made assets, raising fresh questions about disclosure, the value of creative labor, reputational risk, industry competitiveness.

Overview

  • The promotional music video for Stellar Blade: Blood Rain drew heavy criticism after release in late July for visible AI artifacts including warped graphics, garbled on-screen text, awkward lip-syncing, and robotic vocals.
  • Players and commentators said the clip felt like an "AI shortcut" because most of the video's visuals and the song appeared to be generated rather than hand-crafted.
  • Shift Up CEO Kim Hyung Tae replied publicly that Evie was "created from head to toe" by studio artists and that generative tools only rendered the studio's assets.
  • Reporters say Shift Up likely used an in-house AI pipeline trained on the studio's models and designs, a practice that keeps production internal but raises ethical, legal, and labor disclosure questions.
  • The studio has not announced a release date for Blood Rain and reporting suggests a 2027 window as possible, while the episode highlights how broader AI adoption could affect trust in game marketing and workforce roles.