Call of Duty’s latest release has only been out for a few days, but rumors regarding next year’s entry have already been in the wild for some time. Following two back-to-back entries with Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7, Modern Warfare 4 is expected to mark Infinity Ward’s return to the series.
Previous leaks already revealed a Korean setting for the game, and a new asset found in the internal Call of Duty files appears to only confirm this leak further. Unfortunately, it appears Activision’s use of AI-generated art is here to stay, extending to Modern Warfare 4.
Over on Twitter, a video showing Korean snacks from the internal Call of Duty files highlights that Modern Warfare 4 is indeed set in Korea.
The snacks are named Salty Snack and “Salty Orion”, with the third one being hard to make out. Clearly, the art looks familiar in all the wrong ways. The overall quality and style of the art and text heavily imply that AI has been used in the creation of these assets, and going by Activision’s recent antics, this would hardly be a surprise.
Because this is likely a small advertisement used within the game on a billboard or sign, the use of AI in this instance does not bode well for the rest of the game. One can only expect to see continued reliance on the technology in Modern Warfare 4, much like Activision did for Black Ops 7.
Modern Warfare 4 is expected to mark a return to Infinity Ward’s series in a major way. Rumors suggested a more grounded tone and a mix between the older and “modern” Modern Warfare titles, but the overreliance on generative AI could sully the overall experience for gamers.
Not much else is currently known about Modern Warfare 4, but the fact that one of the first post-Black Ops 7 leaks regarding the game is related to AI is quite the story. As mentioned earlier, Black Ops 7 was widely panned for its use of AI, with the story even leading to US Congressman Ro Khanna expressing discontent at the situation.
One can only expect, then, to see Modern Warfare 4 receiving similar criticism at release for its AI-generated content, especially if the art and assets contradict the overall theme and style of the game.
