TLDR: Nexon’s free-to-play game, ‘The First Descendant,’ has drawn significant criticism for deploying AI-generated influencers and deepfakes, including one of streamer DanieltheDemon without consent, in its recent TikTok advertising campaign. The developer attributed the issue to ‘irregularities’ within TikTok’s ‘Creative Challenge’ program, claiming the platform lacked systems to prevent copyright infringement.
The free-to-play third-person loot shooter, ‘The First Descendant,’ developed by Nexon, has recently come under fire for its controversial TikTok advertising practices. The game, which launched last year and is currently in its ‘Season 3: Breakthrough,’ reportedly utilized AI-generated influencers and deepfakes in promotional videos posted to its official TikTok account in August.
Players quickly identified several ‘red flags’ in these advertisements, noting artificial-sounding voices, inauthentic scripts, and strange mouth and head movements from the ostensible streamers. Reddit user u/iHardlyTriHard compiled several of these ads, expressing frustration that the developer would use AI for promotion instead of supporting actual content creators.
Even more concerning was the discovery that at least one ad featured a deepfake of real horror game streamer DanieltheDemon. The ad appeared to take a clip from DanieltheDemon’s popular TikTok video, which showed him playing an indie horror game, then flipped it, used AI to alter his mouth movements and words, and superimposed footage of ‘The First Descendant’ to make it seem as though he was endorsing the game.
DanieltheDemon himself commented on the controversy, stating, ‘I have no affiliation nor contract with The First Descendant. They stole my face/reactions from my most viral video and used AI to change what my mouth says and a voice that isn’t mine. I did not consent for my likeness to be used…’
In response to the widespread backlash, Nexon’s ‘The First Descendant’ team issued an official statement, distancing themselves from the specific videos. They explained that the ads were created through the ‘TikTok Creative Challenge,’ a program allowing creators to submit branded advertisements, which, if approved, are often pushed through the brand’s official channels.
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Nexon claimed that TikTok acted as a middleman and failed to identify copyright infringements. ‘After confirming with TikTok, we learned that no system currently exists to verify potential copyright infringement, and TikTok is now conducting further investigations to identify any additional cases,’ the Nexon post read. The developer acknowledged that they ‘failed to uphold the authenticity of our marketing content and to respect the efforts of our creators and community.’ This incident highlights growing concerns over the ethical implications and regulatory gaps surrounding AI-generated content and deepfakes in advertising.
