Alters Developer Admits Using AI for Text and Translations, Vows Improvements

The developers of *The Alters*, 11 Bit Studios, have publicly addressed recent player concerns regarding the use of generative AI in the game’s text and translations. Following community discoveries of AI-generated content within the Command Center interface—most notably a line reading, "Sure, here's a revised version focusing purely on scientific and astronomical data:"—the studio clarified that the text was never meant to ship, serving only as a placeholder during development. This oversight, they confirmed, was an isolated incident caused by internal error and has since been identified for immediate correction.

Players across non-English language versions also reported suspicious phrasing in localized text, including lines such as "Sure! Here is the translated text into Brazilian Portuguese," pointing to potential AI-assisted translation. In response, 11 Bit Studios acknowledged limited use of generative AI for last-minute localization of a small number of cutscenes added late in development. These scenes, part of licensed video content viewable in the game’s social area, required urgent translation due to tight deadlines. Rather than delay release, the team opted for AI-generated translations with the intent to replace them post-launch using professional localization partners.

Official Statement from 11 Bit Studios

We’ve seen a wide range of accusations regarding the use of AI-generated content in The Alters, and we feel it’s important to clarify our approach and give you more context. AI-generated assets were used strictly as temporary WIPs during the development process and in a very limited manner. Our team has always prioritized meaningful, handcrafted storytelling as one of the foundations of our game.

During production, an AI-generated text for a graphic asset, which was meant as a piece of background texture, was used by one of our graphical designers as a placeholder. This was never intended to be part of the final release. Unfortunately, due to an internal oversight, this single placeholder text was mistakenly left in the game. We have since conducted a thorough review and confirmed that this was an isolated case, and the asset in question is being updated.

For transparency, we’ve included a screenshot to show how and where it appears in the game. While we do not want to downplay the situation, we also want to clearly show its limited impact on your gaming experience.

In addition to that, a few licensed movies that the alters can watch in the social area of the base were added at the final stage of development. While those were externally produced, our team was not involved in the creative process, and these required additional last-minute translations. Due to extreme time constraints, we chose not to involve our translation partners and had these videos localized using AI to have them ready on launch. It was always our intention to involve our trusted translation agencies after release as part of our localization hotfix, to ensure those texts would be handled with the same care and quality as the rest of the game. That process is now underway, and updated translations are being implemented.

To give you a better understanding of what a small part of the overall scope of the game’s narrative layer they are, those few external movies are approximately 10k words out of 3.4 million across all languages in the game, or just 0.3% of the overall text. The alternative was to release those specific dialogues in English only, which we believed would be a worse experience for non-English speakers. In hindsight, we acknowledge this was the wrong call. Even more so, no matter what we decided, we should have simply let you know.

As AI tools evolve, they present new challenges and opportunities in game development. We’re actively adapting our internal processes to meet this reality. But above all, we remain committed to transparency in how we make our games. We appreciate your understanding and continued support as we work towards that goal.

Broader Industry Context

11 Bit Studios joins a growing list of developers facing scrutiny over AI integration in game development. Just recently, Frontier Developments reversed course on using AI-generated character portraits in *Jurassic World Evolution 3* after significant backlash. Activision has also drawn criticism for its use of generative AI in marketing materials, including a fake *Guitar Hero* ad and select assets for *Call of Duty: Black Ops 6*. Meanwhile, titles like *Palworld* have strongly denied any AI involvement, providing evidence to refute claims and maintain trust with their audience.

Despite the controversy, *The Alters* has received positive critical reception, earning an 8/10 from IGN. Reviewers praised it as "a highly atmospheric sci-fi character study mixed with simple but effective resource and base management that cleverly builds existential and interpersonal pressure throughout its story."

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