Level-5 President and CEO Akihiro Hino confirmed that the company recently used generative AI in promotional materials for upcoming titles in the Professor Layton and Yo-kai Watch series. In response to backlash from some players, he admitted the scope of AI usage was too broad and issued a public apology.
Level-5 previously held an online presentation to announce new titles across several of its franchises. After the event, some social media users compiled screenshots and questioned whether much of the content had been processed using generative AI. Some players also compared these visuals with existing series assets, criticizing inconsistencies in details and overall visual coherence.Akihiro Hino stated that the company originally aimed to make the presentation materials more eye-catching, which led to the inclusion of experimental, cutting-edge AI processing. He acknowledged that this caused discomfort among some viewers and offered a sincere apology.
Regarding the actual game content, Akihiro Hino emphasized that elements defining a title’s appeal and identity—such as the script, character designs, and core settings—are still crafted by human creators. He also stated that the company uses AI to digitize manually created content, such as converting concept art into polygonal models, and that the final released games will not directly use raw AI-generated outputs.According to him, time saved through AI-driven efficiency gains can be redirected toward core creative work. Level-5 is currently exploring ways to shorten development cycles for major titles, aiming to reduce the current roughly five-year timeline to two years, though these efforts remain in the experimental phase.
Akihiro Hino ultimately acknowledged that the company employed AI in various aspects of this presentation to achieve a clear and striking visual impact. He said Level-5 would learn from this experience and apply those lessons to improve future presentations.