The Alters developer, 11 bit Studios, has addressed allegations that generative AI technology was used in the game's development, admitting that it did use GenAI tech when making the game, though in some cases it was never meant to be in the final version. While other instances were intentional choices the team made due to "time constraints."
The Alters released earlier this month to strong critical acclaim, with the game currently sitting at an 84 on Metacritic, with both critics and players praising its narrative woven between different versions of one person. However, over the weekend it faced its first dash of controversy after players discovered what they believed to be confirmation that 11 bit Studios used generative AI technology when making The Alters.
A major sticking point for players regarding the use of GenAI is how 11 bit studios used it for localization purposes, with players citing poor translations for Portuguese, Russian, and German, though the most significant aspect of 11 bit Studios using GenAI that has upset players is the fact that 11 bit Studios did not disclose they had used the technology.
Per Valve's updated rules for games published on Steam, the use of GenAI to produce the final product that's sold on the digital storefront must be disclosed to players. At the time of this writing, the disclosure is not on The Alters Steam page.
Now, we have 11 bit Studios side of the story, with a long statement published to the game's official X account, where the team explains how one of the instances players have brought up was never meant to make it into the final version of the game. It also provides a screenshot of where the GenAI text can be found, showing how little of the game screen real estate it takes up, and claims it to be an isolated mistake, though says it isn't trying to "downplay" the situation.
"AI-generated assets were used strictly as temporary WIPs during the development process and in a very limited manner. Our team has always prioritized meaningful, handcrafted storytelling as one of the foundations of our game," the studio writes at the top of its statement.
"During production, an AI-generated text for a graphic asset, which was meant as a piece of background texture, was used by one of our graphical designers as a placeholder. This was never intended to be part of the final release. Unfortunately, due to an internal oversight, this single placeholder text was mistakenly left in the game. We have since conducted a thorough review and confirmed that this was an isolated case, and the asset in question is being updated."
Other choices, like using GenAI for localization work, it admits, were intentional choices made due to time constraints that it now says were "the wrong call." 11 bit Studios also claims that it always intended to go back and release a hotfix for the proper translations.
"In addition to that, a few licensed movies that the alters can watch in the social area of the base were added at the final stage of development. While those were externally produced, our team was not involved in the creative process, and these required additional last-minute translations. Due to extreme time constraints, we chose not to involve our translation partners and had these videos localized using AI to have them ready on launch. It was always our intention to involve our trusted translation agencies after release as part of our localization hotfix, to ensure those texts would be handled with the same care and quality as the rest of the game. That process is now underway, and updated translations are being implemented."
11 bit Studios goes on to describe just how little of the game's text is GenAI, and how it wanted to have translations for the aforementioned films to ensure that it didn't only feature the English dialogue while localization work for other languages continued. "In hindsight, we acknowledge this was the wrong call. Even more so, no matter what we decided, we should have simply let you know."
There are plenty of games that use generative AI technology in development, whether as part of the process without intending GenAI assets to be in the final game, or as part of the final product. Like it or not, generative AI technology is part of the modern game development landscape, and it isn't going away anytime soon. It's clear that 11 bit Studios' biggest fumble here wasn't just using GenAI for a poor band-aid solution to its problems, but trying to sneak its GenAI use past players, hoping to patch the game before anyone noticed.
It'll be interesting to see how Steam reacts to this, and if the storefront's rules around the disclosure of GenAI, and the failure disclose, will result in punitive action against developers who take the risk of trying to sneak GenAI assets past Steam.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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