Ironmouse Ends Sponsorship of Neverness to Everness Over Allegations of Deceptive GenAI Usage by Developers

Neverness to Everness, the new open-world gacha game from Hotta Studio, launched on April 29, and it’s already facing some backlash. While players are enjoying the generous gacha pull rates and impressive graphics, concerns about the use of generative AI in the game are casting a shadow over its initial success. This issue gained traction after Twitch VTuber Ironmouse announced she would be stepping back from her sponsored streams, claiming the developers misled her about the game’s “blatant” use of generative AI.

Players have pointed out several instances that suggest the presence of generative AI in Neverness to Everness. These include an animated video featured in one of the opening missions, an “18-minute generative AI anime short film” available in the in-game theater, and a billboard advertisement for a fictional anime film that bears a striking resemblance to the actual anime Weathering with You.

As noted by Gosu Gamers, during a stream on May 3, Ironmouse revealed her decision to withdraw from the sponsored content, stating that Hotta Studio had “assured” her there would be no AI-generated content in the final release.

“Whenever I get sent an offer for a sponsor or something, I always make sure that I tell people ‘can you make sure–double, triple, quadruple-check–that this does not have AI in it. I will not accept it if it does,’” Ironmouse explained. “And then, [Hotta Studio] assured me ‘no, don’t worry, you’re good, it’s fine.’…and then I find out, it’s not fine?”

“There were certain things that I saw, where it’s just like, ‘Bro, you cannot sit here and lie and say that this is not it,’ because this is what it is!” she added. “Like, you can’t lie! What do you think? I don’t have eyes?!”

Another well-known VTuber, Shylily, also halted her playthrough of Neverness to Everness mid-stream, expressing her desire to investigate the suspected use of generative AI before promoting the game further. Additionally, anime voice actor Meggie-Elise, credited in Neverness to Everness, shared on social media that she had “recently found out that a game” she contributed her voice to “has been using AI and has been dishonest about it.”

“I want to be clear that I do not support generative AI in any creative field, including voiceover, art, writing, or music,” Meggie-Elise stated. “If this is not addressed and removed, I will not be continuing work with this team.”

As of now, Hotta Studio has not released any public comments regarding the situation.