PlayStation is among the most respected publishers in the industry today, boasting a slew of big games and IPs to its name. In recent years, the gaming giant has secured a Game of the Year title, led the home console race with millions of units sold, and more.
However, the company’s latest effort has become the subject of mass criticism. PlayStation seems to have made use of generative AI for its latest set of PSN avatars, and gamers are not happy.
As shared on Resetera, the new avatars released alongside the PlayStation Advent Calendar 2025 look very suspicious and resemble AI art. For starters, they all follow a similar design language, and if there was still any doubt left, the ‘Neon Brawler’ avatar features text in the background that doesn’t make any sense.
This, of course, is common across AI-generated art since the technology typically makes mistakes with smaller background elements in images. In the replies to the thread, many gamers are criticizing PlayStation for celebrating the end of 2025 with what they have dubbed “AI slop.”
Others have gone on to critique the actual quality of these avatars, stating that AI continues to churn out unappealing art to this day. In particular, fans are upset that these avatars look both unappealing and generic compared to PlayStation’s usual offerings.
While this instance of AI use seems to be a rare one for PlayStation, the industry has made it abundantly clear that it does not intend to stop using this technology anytime soon.
With high-profile AAA titles like Black Ops 7 using the same strategy for calling card artwork, these instances just scratch the surface of what gaming could look like only a few years from now. Here’s hoping publishers are able to cut back on AI use and allow human talent to shine above all else.
