Humankind 2 has been officially announced at Gamescom, but the trailer has led to online accusations that Amplitude Studios, the team behind this game, used AI to create it. Amplitude Studios denies this claim, insisting that the trailer was filmed in live action on a real set with humans, and PC Gamer confirmed that their team had a chance to see some behind-the-scenes photos that support this defense.
Amplitude said to PC Gamer that the behind-the-scenes content will be shared in the near future, but these accusations now make you question whether the way trailers and promotional content for games will have to be made in specific styles to avoid being accused of AI. However, you could really accuse anything of being AI, and the push by companies to use AI across departments has sown distrust among consumers.
A Closer Look at Humankind 2's Trailer
The reason the trailer ended up being accused of using AI is due to the perspective that was chosen. You see the events through the eyes of a newborn, so a fisheye lens was used to give you the uncanny, distorted look at the various periods in history that Humankind 2 will include. The purpose of a fisheye lens used in the trailer is to give you an ultra-wide view of the world based on the idea of what a fish would see from underwater, and the result is a strong distortion that ends up being used in horror films or during tense moments in any genre.
I love the techniques that can be used in films without AI to create various effects, but now seeing stories like this leaves me wondering if studios are going to be discouraged from getting creative due to fear of AI accusations or if every reveal will have to start including proof that AI wasn't used during development. It seems that AI is creeping in everywhere, and there's even a fully AI actor now.
The result is a strong distortion that ends up being used in horror films or during tense moments in any genre.
Honestly, the trailer for Humankind 2 has a quality to it where the people we see in it do appear to be human instead of AI-generated if you focus on the details beyond the fisheye perspective. The only question I have left would be how the studio included the effects you see in the background, but even that could easily be through normal visual effects and CGI rather than AI. It's an uncanny trailer, sure, but uncanny doesn't automatically mean it's made by AI.
Shape History in Humankind 2
Looking beyond the accusations, Humankind 2 is another turn-based historical strategy game that sounds like it'll be perfect for fans of the Civilization games as you guide settlements from their earliest days to modern times.
Humankind 2 builds on the foundation of the first game, but you'll have additional cultures and stories to explore in the game as Amplitude Studios wants to provide a rich experience that's historically grounded. Of course, history might not play out the same way depending on your decisions and how you have your settlements evolve, and that means that you'll be able to replay the game and see how different options impact the future of your people.
Humankind 2 doesn't have an exact release date yet, but it's supposed to be released at some point in 2027. In the meantime, you can pick up the first Humankind game on Steam at a steep discount until September 8 as part of the studio's celebration of the game's fifth anniversary. While I understand the tendency to question whether content is AI-generated in an industry like gaming, where jobs are being lost at record rates, I'm inclined to believe that Humankind 2 didn't use it for the trailer, and I look forward to seeing the behind-the-scenes content for its creation.