The sequel to Pinocchio soulslike Lies of P that was announced in 2023 is now in “full production,” as revealed by the latest earnings results posted by developer Neowiz. That’s great news if you’re a fan of the game, but behind-the-scenes moves at the studio have some of those fans a little less than happy about the overall state of things.
The problem is the studio’s seemingly enthusiastic embrace of generative AI for game development.
Oh, that’s the creators of Lies of P specifically hiring an AI “artist” to work on their next game 😕
— @dandyfloss.bsky.social (@dandyfloss.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-05-13T01:25:27.094Z
While some studios disavow gen AI completely, or use it for early-stage concepting and placeholders, a Neowiz job listing (Google translated) for an “AI Creator,” spotted by Captain Dandyfloss on Bluesky, is explicit about using “generative AI technology to maximize the efficiency of the art production process and innovate the visual quality of games.”
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As noted in the job listing, specific responsibilities of the role will include:
- Creation of character/background concept drafts and expansion of variations using Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, etc.
- AI-based texturing, modeling assistance using image-to-3D technology, and asset creation
- Integrating AI tools into existing art workflows to reduce production time and build an efficient AI art pipeline
- Training unique AI models and building libraries optimized for the project’s art style using LoRA, ControlNet, etc.
- Post-processing (In-painting/Out-painting) and high-resolution upscaling of AI products to a level applicable to actual games
- Identifying the latest generative AI trends and providing AI tool usage guides for in-house artists
The listing says Neowiz is “developing games of various genres and platforms to bring new surprises and enjoyment that have never existed before,” and in a statement provided to PC Gamer, the studio clarified that the AI Creator will not be “directly involved” in the development of the Lies of P sequel.
““The job posting in question is not a role that will be directly involved in the production of the Lies of P sequel. Instead, they will reside within an independent Art R&D team at ROUND8,” Neowiz said. “GenAI tools are only used in preliminary stage work to improve efficiency of repetitive, foundational tasks.
“AI-generated visuals function strictly as internal reference material during pre-production, a method for establishing visual direction before formal production begins. The intent is to build a proprietary visual library trained exclusively on assets for which Neowiz and ROUND8 hold full legal rights. All final assets for the upcoming game will be created by experienced artists.”
ROUND8 is the internal studio at Neowiz that developed Lies of P.
It is what it is, as the doomed and the damned like to say, and while I don’t personally subscribe to the idea that AI is inevitable in whatever form you want to define “AI” for the argument of the moment, it is at the very least seeping through the cracks.
What’s notable about this job listing in particular is the way there’s no preemptive apology or promised limitations on its use: Neowiz is clearly all-in on incorporating generative AI in its development process, despite how persistently unpopular it is with a large slice of the gaming audience. Even Peter Molyneux and Randy Pitchford, two of the industry’s most, uh, ebullient guys, have been relatively cautious about their approach to AI in public.
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Naturally, there is disappointment and backlash:
genuinely how are these people still not realizing that basically every single game that has been discovered to use/promote AI has immediately tanked in interest across the board.
I can’t think of a single game that has done well after the Ai was discovered.
— @goofygoober.ca (@goofygoober.ca.bsky.social) 2026-05-13T01:25:26.960Z
I feel so disappointed after finding out the studio behind Lies of P gonna hire AI artists for their sequel
— @rashuu.bsky.social (@rashuu.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-05-13T01:25:27.213Z
Never felt this angry with a game developers, Im so sad… with such a beautiful game like Lies of P, the sequel will be an AI slop, i will not believe them anymore if they say there won’t be AI in the developing of art and story
— @nightsbo.bsky.social (@nightsbo.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-05-13T01:25:27.313Z
once again, it doesn’t matter how little or minor your usage of AI is, I will not buy your game no matter what, even if I really like your work like Lies of P
you can eat the deepest darkest part of my ass bye
— @pixelscum.bsky.social (@pixelscum.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-05-13T01:25:27.491Z
Some of that reaction, I think, arises from the perception of Lies of P as a sort of underdog, out-of-nowhere game that took a bizarre concept—”Pinocchiosouls,” as PC Gamer’s Lauren Morton put it in 2022—and turned it into an exciting, memorable experience with, importantly, a genuinely beautiful visual style. Neowiz itself is no upstart, though: The company reported Q1 2026 revenues of 101.4 billion Korean won, which works out to roughly $68 million—not a full-on games industry behemoth, but nothing to sneeze at either for a three-month period.
Of course, the actual game industry behemoths are also becoming increasingly enthusiastic about AI: Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Hideaki Nishino recently said that AI will enable “gaming experiences like never before,” while Google Cloud global director for games Jack Buser believes the advent of AI will straight-up save the industry.
Ironically, Xbox chief Asha Sharma, who came into the role after serving as president of Microsoft’s CoreAI Products division, promised to avoid “soulless AI slop” and ended development of Copilot AI on Xbox—although she’s also loaded up Xbox leadership with AI executives, so I’m still waiting to make the call on that one.
