[Backlash] Wild Rift's AI-looking video: Riot's 'creator-made' defence angers fans

The third-anniversary cinematic for Wild Rift (LoL's mobile version) drew accusations that it was AI-generated, blew up, and was deleted from the official account. It featured Aurora, Ezreal, Jinx, Seraphine and Yasuo. The roughness of the video — unnatural crowds, stilted line delivery — prompted the reaction "Riot is putting this out?"

The video in question

It has been removed by the official account; the following is a re-upload by a fan. The actual roughness — broken character models, Jinx holding a completely different pistol, Seraphine fighting in melee — comes across clearly.

What was the problem?

Riot is a company known for world-class animation such as Arcane. That this company put out something that looks AI-generated drew a chorus of "why?" On top of that, the Wild Rift producer described it in an apology on X as being "creator-made" and having "missed the mark", and never stated outright that AI was used, which poured fuel on the fire. The production has also been reported to have been handled on the Tencent side.

Reactions from abroad (selected)

• A company with one of the best animation studios in the world, why lean on AI
• Saying "creator-made" is just avoiding the word AI, isn't it
• The wooden line reads and the uncanny crowds are genuinely rough
• If you're apologising, first admit that you used AI
• It feels dismissive of artists. I hate where this is heading
• If Tencent produced it, what happened to oversight?
• Having this as the third-anniversary celebration is honestly sad
• The only thing that wins back lost trust is the next piece being the real deal

Wrapping up

The issue is less "did they use AI" than "could they be honest about using it". More than the technology itself, what's being tested is the sincerity of the explanation and respect for artists. Whether the next video is the real thing will decide the verdict.

Those eerie crowd movements were harder to read than my own solo queue teammates.