Level-5 boss apologises for using AI in Layton, Yo-Kai Watch reveals
Level-5 chief Akihiro Hino has admitted the studio used generative AI to put together its latest Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch reveals — and apologised to viewers who felt uncomfortable.
Generative AI, software that can produce images, video and text from simple prompts, was used to assemble parts of the reveal videos. The confirmation came in comments published on 13 September, Video Games Chronicle. Hino is Level-5's president and chief executive, and he spoke directly about the backlash.
The videos appeared as part of the company's recent digital showcase, an online presentation that announced new entries in both series. Fans watching closely were quick to pick the broadcast apart. Some viewers said parts of the footage, including clips tied to Professor Layton, looked like "AI slop", a dismissive term for low-effort, machine-made images and video, IGN. The criticism spread quickly online and drew a direct reply.
Hino said he was sorry the presentation had left some people uneasy. He said the team had brought AI into the videos to make the showcase more spectacular. He described the effort as an experiment with the latest technology, rather than a change in how the games themselves are built.
He drew a clear line between trailers and finished games. Scenarios, character designs and basic settings in Level-5's released works are created by human hands, he said. AI is used to digitise that human work, such as turning original artwork into polygons, the tiny shapes that build 3D graphics. No simplistic AI-generated output goes straight into the games that ship, he added.
That distinction matters because trailers set expectations. Viewers assume what they see reflects how a game will look and feel. When the seams show, trust wobbles.
Hino also set out a wider production goal. He said Level-5 plans to cut the development period for major titles from five years to two years. AI would help speed up routine work along the way. It is an ambitious target. Three years off a schedule is a lot of late nights saved — or lost, depending on how it is handled.
For fans, this means two debates in one. One is about what a reveal video should be, and whether an experiment belongs in it. The other is about how games get made, and where machine help stops and human authorship starts.
