D&D publisher Wizards says AI art banned from its books going forward

Dungeons & Dragons Wizards of the Coast, the maker of the game Sourcebook, has admitted that AI-generated art was published. Bigby Presents: Glory of the GiantsThe digital version of the game was released on August 1 to those who had pre-ordered. Hasbro said it would update its policy to prevent AI-generated work from appearing in future publications. Images remain online at D&D Beyond, and are expected to be included in the physical book when it is released on Aug. 15.

“While we weren’t aware of the artist’s choice to use AI in the creation process for these commissioned pieces,” Wizards said in a statement posted Saturday to X (formerly known as Twitter), “we have discussed with him, and he will not use AI for Wizards’ work moving forward.”

The controversy came to light on Friday when D&D author NevernotDM posted on X to call out what he considered “seriously concerning” evidence of AI’s use in Glory of the Giants This will be published in the Aug. 15 issue.

Saturday, artist Ilya Shkipin wrote on X that he’d used AI for “certain details or polish and editing” and went on to post comparisons of finished work and initial sketches to show what he meant. After pushback from artists and others in the D&D community, Shkipin deleted the posts. io9 published screenshots of Shkipin’s comparisons on Saturday.

The final art for this character, a Frostmourn, and others on D&D Beyond has characteristics that indicate AI was used. In another one, the Frost Giant Ice Shaper’s left foot appears strangely proportioned and turned, suggesting, or at least calling into question, the art’s origins.

Shkipin’s art has been in almost 10 years of Dungeons & Dragons books, going back to the fifth edition’s debut in 2014. Wizards in Saturday’s statement said it is “revising our process and updating our artist guidelines to make clear that artists must refrain from using AI art generation as part of their art creation process for developing D&D art.”

This isn’t the first time AI art creation and the world of tabletop games have clashed, resulting in statements and policies. Paizo (makers of Pathfinder, Starfinder) promised in March that all of its contracts with artists would prohibit the use of AI. Around two months earlier, three artists had filed a complaint in a collective action against two AI art tool companies and DeviantArt. DeviantArt has its own AI generator.

It was noted that AI art has been relatively recent in the gaming industry. The backlash over its inclusion on social media, however, was muted. Nevertheless, it’s just another in a long line of public relations issues for Wizards this year, including D&D’s OGL fiasco from January and an acknowledgement that Pinkerten agents were sent to retrieve leaked Magic: The Gathering cards from a content creators’ home in April.