Square Enix Insists That Cursed Kingdom Hearts Art Was Not AI-Generated

Some of the “issues” being referenced here include Donald Duck having 4 fingers on one hand and 5 on the other, the hands on the clocktower appearing warped, the Keyblade’s keychain links appearing uneven, Sora’s crown-shaped belt chain links melting into each other, the absence of the crown-shaped pattern usually seen on the bottom of Sora’s shoes, and various clothing zippers seeming to fade into nothing, among other issues.

“Quality is extremely important to us, and updated assets have been implemented where appropriate,” the statement continued.

The X post that started it all is still up, but elsewhere online, the image has been replaced with a new version. (The official trailer’s YouTube thumbnail features a third version of the image, in which Donald’s five-fingered hand is simply obscured.) The new image still features some of the strange details players pointed out in the original key art, including the warped crowns on Sora’s belt chain, the lack of crowns on his shoe soles, and and the strange links on Mickey’s Keyblade keychain. The clocktower’s hands look a bit straighter, but for the most part, it appears the main goal was correcting Donald Duck’s five-fingered hand, which now features the correct four digits.

Square Enix did not provide any commentary as to how the original image came to be.