Level-5 has responded to fan concerns about artificial intelligence in its recent VISION 2026 II: Dreams presentation, saying several unusual details in the first Yo-Kai Watch 2: Haunted Domain trailer were caused by human mistakes rather than generative AI.
The clarification arrives after viewers questioned background artwork shown during the presentation and in a Nintendo Direct trailer. Level-5 says it understands why fans are wary, particularly when AI use has become a sensitive issue across the games industry.
In its official statement, the studio explained that some of the most conspicuous details were based on real-world references. The telephone poles, for example, were drawn using photographs of Japanese electrical wiring. Those wires may look unusual, but the reference material itself was genuine.
Other questionable background features, including vending machines and rain gutters, were also attributed to poor human execution rather than generated imagery. Level-5 says the artwork was corrected for a later version of the trailer, while the earlier cut remained in the Nintendo Direct broadcast on 9 September.
Why the trailer versions differed
The Nintendo Direct had been scheduled before the VISION 2026 II: Dreams event, so Level-5 had to submit earlier trailer builds ahead of the Direct deadline. The company says revised versions will be shown at the Tokyo Game Show.
The controversy also reflects a wider challenge for developers using AI-assisted tools: once audiences know the technology has been used somewhere, visual oddities can easily be interpreted as evidence of AI elsewhere. That makes clear communication and careful quality control especially important for studios presenting unfinished material.
Level-5 is not denying all AI use
Level-5’s explanation is not a claim that AI played no role in developing the game. CEO and president Akihiro Hino previously addressed the subject in a 12 September post on X, and the company’s latest statement makes a similar distinction: some development processes may use AI, but the disputed trailer errors were ordinary production oversights.
The studio says it intends to keep using AI primarily to improve efficiency, rather than placing AI-generated work in videos shared with fans. Hino has also argued that treating AI as inherently harmful could slow digital technology’s progress, while describing it as a tool that creators and audiences should learn to understand.
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