Neverness to Everness debuts strong, faces AI asset controversy fallout

Neverness to Everness came out swinging on April 29, 2026, and then spent the first week fighting for trust. Hotta Studio and Perfect World Games launched the supernatural urban open-world RPG across PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, iOS and Android, and Perfect World said first-day sales topped 100 million Chinese yuan, about $14.64 million. Japan and the United States drove the biggest share of that revenue, while South Korea outperformed expectations.

That commercial start made the backlash hit harder. Within days of launch, players began circulating clips and screenshots they believed showed generative AI fingerprints in the game’s art. Some pointed to a scene where a character’s outfit appeared to shift when an arm covered part of the frame. Others flagged billboard imagery they said carried the smeared, overprocessed look associated with AI filters. One claim even centered on an 18-minute anime short that viewers said might be playing inside one of the game’s theaters.

The dispute quickly moved beyond fan theory and into creator fallout. Ironmouse said she had been told there was “literally no AI” in the game and dropped her sponsorship after the allegations surfaced. Shylily ended a stream early so she could investigate the claims before continuing to promote the title. English voice actor Meggie-Elise also publicly objected to the possible use of generative AI and said she would leave if the issue was not addressed and removed.

Hotta Studio and Perfect World Games later issued a statement acknowledging that AI-assisted tools had been used on a small number of background and environmental assets. The companies said the characters, stories and world were created by human artists, writers and designers, and said they were reviewing and reworking the flagged assets, including Clear Skies in Summer and Pink Paws Heist. Before launch, executive director Yang Lei had already said the studio used AI for atmosphere renderings and reference checks, but not for core assets or character portraits.

The bigger damage may be reputational rather than technical. Neverness to Everness arrived in a market where influencer trust can make or break a live-service launch, and where players are increasingly sensitive to any hint of hidden automation in art or voice work. With SAG-AFTRA still pressing game publishers on AI protections, the NTE backlash landed in a labor climate where creators are already primed to see unclear AI use as a breach of trust.