Ever since its reveal, Mario Kart World has been the subject of controversy in the gaming community, mostly related to whether it will be worth its increased price compared to other Switch 2 games.

Now, a slightly different type of controversy has cropped up surrounding the title. Fans reviewing Mario Kart World‘s Nintendo Treehouse livestream are claiming that AI generated artwork was used for the game’s posters. They specifically point to three posters as seen below, which depict strange looking architecture and a disproportionate car which they believe are signs that AI was used to generate them.

In a statement issued to Eurogamer, Nintendo denied these accusations outright, saying that “AI-generated images were not used in the development of Mario Kart World.”.

Aside from Nintendo’s official statement, others have pointed out that the designs for these posters fit in with Mario Kart World‘s less realistic artstyle and are not necessarily AI generated, with the vehicles similar to the disproportionate car clearly visible in other parts of the footage. Others assert that even if they were AI generated, they are probably placeholder images that will be changed when the game comes out.

AI generated artwork is a hot topic in the games industry, with many believing that using it takes jobs away from already underappreciated videogame artists and are harmful to the environment. Developer Level-5 previously faced similar backlash for allegedly using AI to generate environments for their upcoming game Holy Horror Mansion.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.