Square Enix has denied accusations that it used generative AI — software that creates images from text prompts — to produce promotional artwork for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3, attributing the errors fans flagged to human mistake.

"These assets were created by our development team without the use of generative AI, and the issues resulted from human error," a Square Enix representative told GameSpot (Eurogamer, GameSpot).

Fans first raised the alarm in early June 2026, pointing to a string of visual oddities in the collection's key art. Donald Duck appeared with five fingers on one hand and four on the other. His zipper showed melting, distorted effects. Mickey Mouse's keyblade chain morphed into a different type of chain halfway down. Sora's shoes did not match his established character model. Clock tower hands bent downward in ways inconsistent with previous artwork (Eurogamer).

Roughly two months passed before Square Enix responded publicly.

The publisher has since updated the artwork, fixing Donald's hands. According to GameSpot, however, the revised asset does not address the clock tower, the chains, or Sora's shoes — leaving several of the originally flagged issues untouched (Eurogamer).

Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 is scheduled for release on PC, Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on October 8, 2026 (Eurogamer).

The Kingdom Hearts series, a long-running crossover between Square Enix characters and Disney properties, has a fanbase known for close attention to visual continuity. The collection bundles the first three numbered entries for current-generation platforms.

For players, the dispute touches on a broader anxiety in gaming: as generative AI tools become more accessible, fans are increasingly scrutinising promotional art for telltale glitches — extra fingers, merging lines, inconsistent details — that signal machine-generated imagery. Square Enix's insistence that the errors came from human hands rather than algorithms does not appear to have fully settled the question for everyone, given that several flagged issues remain in the updated artwork.

What is settled is the release date. Whether the remaining art fixes arrive before October 8 is up to Square Enix.