Just days after the "RuneScape" developer Jagex solemnly promised never to use generative AI for creating content, marketing materials, or merchandise, the veteran studio finds itself in the midst of a full-blown PR disaster. The cause is a new cinematic trailer for the announced Dragon Slayer 2 quest in RuneScape 3, which was shown at the in-house event RuneFest 2026 – and was packed with obvious AI artifacts.

Six fingers and Air Jordans in the Middle Ages

The attentive eyes of the community did not miss the visual flaws in the hand-drawn-style animation. Among the most striking errors were characters with six fingers on one hand as well as fantasy footwear that bore a striking resemblance to modern Air Jordan sneakers – classic missteps typical of unchecked AI image generators.

Since the studio had emphasized shortly beforehand that generative AI has no place at Jagex to replace human artists, a massive backlash erupted on social networks and subreddits.

Jagex’s Statement: External Partners Under Criticism

Following the loud protest, Jagex immediately withdrew the trailer from all channels and initiated an internal urgent review. In an official statement, the studio apologized to the community and shifted the blame to an external agency:

“This trailer was produced by a trusted external partner who explicitly assured us that no generative AI was used. But among other things, there is a sixth finger – and that simply cannot be disputed. We apologize for that.”

Particularly embarrassing for Jagex: this is already the second incident of this kind in a short time. Just a few days ago, a merchandise collaboration with the eSports organization 100 Thieves came under criticism for AI-generated designs, which the studio also attributed to external partners.

Consequences and Community Involvement

Community Manager Mod Sween admitted that the problem does not lie solely with breaching agencies but reveals a clear failure in their own quality control, as the material was approved without review.

As a direct consequence, Jagex announced that they will drastically overhaul internal approval processes from now on. To make amends and properly tell the story of the Dragon Slayer 2 quest, the studio now plans to work closely with artists from their own community and officially commission them.