Shift Up, the developer behind the action game Stellar Blade, has faced criticism from fans regarding a newly released AI-generated music video for its upcoming title, Stellar Blade: Blood Rain. The video, titled ‘Wanna be in LOVE’ Feat. Evie, features the game’s protagonist and includes disclaimers indicating that AI was used for its generation.
Fans have pointed out noticeable inconsistencies in character models and nonsensical text generated by the AI within the video. Examples include garbled text on a vending machine such as “Preduet Spee” and “Refiil Natice,” alongside misspellings on book spines, such as “Meaiiatations” for Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. These visual and textual anomalies have contributed to the negative reception.
The backlash follows previous fan reactions to AI-generated elements shown in the Stellar Blade: Blood Rain reveal trailer at Summer Games Fest in June. Despite the developer’s acknowledgment of AI use, players have voiced strong disapproval.
One user on X stated, “You need to stop using Gen AI to promote Stellar Blade. The backlash will be horrible for the IP and it will not be reverseable.” Another commented, “Who the fuck likes this garbage. Shift ups music composition was one of their best qualities, this ain’t it.” Twitch streamer BasedLEDA expressed a similar sentiment, questioning the director’s focus on AI over the studio’s human talent, stating, “I seriously do not understand this guy’s obsession with garbage when he’s got such a talented team of actual creators who create purely with their sheer talent.” The streamer also voiced concerns that Stellar Blade: Blood Rain itself might incorporate similar AI-generated content.
Shift Up CEO and director Kim Hyung-tae has previously spoken positively about artificial intelligence in game development. In a January interview, he suggested that AI could allow a single person to perform the work of 100, a capability he felt was necessary for competing with larger studios, particularly those in China that employ significantly more staff. He stated, “We devote around 150 people to a single game, but China puts in between 1,000 to 2,000… We lack the capacity to compete, both in terms of quality and volume of content.” The recent music video appears to be a direct application of this philosophy, though it has evidently alienated a portion of the game's fanbase.