Players have spotted oddities in Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal x Hearthstone art, reigniting concerns over generative AI use in official game promotions.

A new piece of promotional artwork posted across official Diablo Immortal social media channels is raising eyebrows, as fans believe it may have been created using generative AI. The claims, initially made by Reddit user Ipyreable, focus on several unusual features within the image that suggest it may not be hand-drawn.

Visual anomalies fuel fan scepticism

The artwork, designed to promote a crossover between Diablo Immortal and Hearthstone, features characters from both franchises engaged in a game. However, users have pointed out several visual inconsistencies that hint at AI involvement. The most striking is a distorted human ear, an often-cited giveaway in generative AI imagery. Other oddities include a man’s hand blending unnaturally into the background, mismatched swirl patterns on card backs, and a candle burning without a visible flame.

Additionally, a slice of bread appears to float without a plate, and one card bizarrely contains Hearthstone’s game board as its face. While the image has been shared widely by Diablo Immortal’s official accounts, Hearthstone’s social media platforms have not posted it, possibly due to the crossover being focused primarily on the former title.

“Guess $158 pets aren't enough to pay an artist to draw the image for their collab lmao,” Reddit user Ipyreable said in their follow up message in the post, referring to Hearthstone’s recently introduced $158 cosmetic pet, King Krush. 

The latest artwork has no credited artist, leading to growing doubt within the community. "That's so disappointing, and disgusting. Hearthstone's pride is its artwork, why do this!?" Redditor Lysesa commented. “Look, [if there's] one thing Blizzard always do[es] well, [it's] having amazing artist[s]. Please, AT LEAST DON'T F*** THIS [up],” Redditor -Xentios added.

Ongoing concerns over generative AI in Blizzard titles

This isn’t the first time Blizzard has faced scrutiny over alleged AI-generated artwork. In 2023, players accused the studio of using AI to produce pixel art skins for Hearthstone’s The Great Dark Beyond expansion. While Blizzard stated it was investigating the claims, the skins were removed via hotfix before any official conclusion was announced.

The artist associated with that content, Trey Fore, reportedly had multiple Instagram posts resembling AI-generated imagery, further fuelling suspicion.

Many others echoed similar concerns about the increasing use of generative AI in games, particularly from studios known for their high-quality visuals. Blizzard has not yet issued a statement regarding the Diablo Immortal crossover image.