Pearl Abyss confirmed that AI-generated images in Crimson Desert were unintended placeholders that slipped into the final launch. In response, numerous game developers have shared their own deliberately silly human-made temporary assets on social media. The incident highlights differing views on what placeholder art should look like during development.
Crimson Desert, an open-world RPG from Pearl Abyss, launched last week but faced backlash over in-game paintings that appeared AI-generated, such as horses with extra legs. On March 22, 2026, the developer and publisher acknowledged the assets, stating they were used early in production to 'rapidly explore tone and atmosphere' and were meant to be replaced before release. Some images, however, remained in the shipped game, prompting skepticism from the industry. Pearl Abyss described it as an oversight, a claim echoed by other studios in similar past cases but met with doubt from developers familiar with standard practices. They argue that effective placeholders must be 'obnoxiously temporary' to avoid accidental inclusion. Obsidian Entertainment's design director Josh Sawyer, known for Fallout: New Vegas and Pentiment (2022), exemplified this by posting images from Pentiment, including an upside-down Bambi and an MS Paint drawing reading 'Guy Sux.' He tweeted: 'Placeholder assets in a game should look obnoxiously temporary, so obvious that no one would mistake it for the final asset. If you use a temp asset that seems passable, it may stay there.' Other developers followed suit on March 22 and 23, sharing MS Paint doodles, meme images, bright pink models, and absurd sketches like a 'placeholder fish man,' crayon textures, and a frog on note paper. Examples came from studios and independents working on titles like The Spirit Lift, Indigo Park, 35 Electric, and Beaconing. This wave of posts underscores a consensus that human-made, intentionally crude assets better signal the need for replacement than AI-generated ones that might blend in.
