Nexon, the publisher behind The First Descendant, has found itself caught in the middle of a marketing controversy after players discovered that some of the “streamers” featured in the game’s TikTok ads weren’t real people at all—they were AI-generated characters. What initially looked like typical influencer-driven promotions quickly unraveled into a debate about authenticity, oversight, and responsibility in digital advertising.

Figure 1. The First Descendant.

The issue surfaced when viewers noticed the uncanny qualities of the featured “creators”—from stiff facial movements to oddly vacant expressions. One ad even appeared to be modeled on a real streamer, DanieltheDemon, who later confirmed he had no involvement. The rest of the clips featured fully synthetic influencers, whose unnatural appearance became glaringly obvious the longer you watched. Figure 1shows The First Descendant.

In response, Nexon acknowledged “irregularities” in its TikTok Creative Challenge campaign, a program where creators can submit content for brands to use in advertising [1]. According to Nexon, all videos were supposed to be screened through TikTok’s systems before approval, but somehow AI fakes slipped through. The publisher now says it is working with TikTok on a joint investigation to determine how the ads were created and approved.

The situation raises larger questions: Was Nexon too hands-off in delegating its campaign to TikTok? Should platforms be doing more to catch AI-generated submissions? And most importantly, what does this mean for the credibility of influencer-driven marketing as AI-generated content becomes harder to distinguish from reality?

For now, Nexon has apologized for the delay in its response, citing the complexity of the review. But the incident highlights a growing risk for brands—when AI-generated “creators” start replacing real people, the line between innovation and deception can get very blurry.

References:

1. https://dig.watch/updates/the-first-descendant-faces-backlash-over-ai-generated-streamer-ads

Cite this article:

Keerthana S (2025), Game Publisher Denies Using AI Influencers, Blames TikTok Submissions and Promises Probe into App Irregularities, AnaTechMaz, pp.1