In February 2025, Activision finally admitted to using generative AI for some Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 assets. Now, ahead of the release of Black Ops 7, Treyarch associate creative director, Miles Leslie, has clarified the Call of Duty developer’s position.
“We live in a world now, where there are AI tools,” Leslie told IGN ahead of Black Ops 7’s reveal at Opening Night Live 2025.
“I think our official statement we said last year, around Black Ops 6, is that everything that goes into the game is touched by the team a hundred percent. We have generative AI tools to help us, but none of that goes in-game.
“And then you’re going to say, ‘Yeah, but it has.’ I’ll say it has by accident. And that was never the intention. We’ve come out and been very clear that we use these as tools to help the team, but they do not replace any of the fantastic team members we have that are doing the final touches and building that content to put it in the game.
“So everything you play: human-created and touched. AI tools in the world we live in: it’s how do we streamline it? That’s really the goal. Not replace, but streamline.”
Call of Duty has suffered a number of generative AI controversies in recent years, including the now-infamous six-fingered zombie Santa bundle. It remains in Black Ops 6. So, given Leslie’s prior answer, why hasn’t it and other suspected generative AI images been removed from the game?
“Yeah, good question,” he responded. “Not my department, but I know that the team is actively looking at that stuff, making sure that it is not shipped, and how we fix it.”
If a similar situation continues into the freshly revealed Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, it raises the question of whether a disclaimer should be added to bundles that do contain generative AI-created artwork. After all, shouldn’t players know what they’re buying before dropping their precious COD points on such cosmetics?
For now, you can check out my full preview of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. For more from the devs, check out their thoughts on Call of Duty being called “lazy” and the threat of Battlefield 6.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can mainly be found skulking around open world games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.
