Square Enix has commented on player accusations that the key art for the Kingdom Hearts Collection on Nintendo Switch 2 was created using generative artificial intelligence. The publisher stated that the image has no relation to AI, and the errors found were a result of ordinary human oversight.
As a reminder, in June, Square Enix announced the Kingdom Hearts Collection, which will be released on October 8 for Nintendo Switch 2. The collection will include Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind, allowing owners of the new console to access all main games and spin-offs in the series.
Soon after the announcement, social media users noticed oddities in the official illustration. Among them were unusual details on Sora's belt and shoes, but Donald Duck caused the most stir: one of the character's hands had four fingers, while the other had five. Later, a corrected version of the image appeared in some digital stores, including the Xbox Store, where Donald now had four fingers on both hands, which only intensified players' suspicions.
Nevertheless, Square Enix rejected the assumptions about the use of generative AI.
We are aware of the feedback regarding recent Kingdom Hearts images. These materials were created by our development team without the use of generative AI, and the issues found were the result of human error.
The company also emphasized that the quality of materials is of paramount importance to them, so corrected versions of the images have already been published where necessary.