Following the reveal of the 'Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice' (hereinafter Sekiro) animation at Gamescom Opening Night Live on the 20th, the production studio has addressed controversy regarding the alleged use of AI.

On the 22nd, the animation studio Qzil.la took to their official X account to clear the air. The studio stated, "'Sekiro: No Defeat' is being crafted entirely through hand-drawn 2D animation to ensure the unique charm of the original game is preserved," and explicitly claimed that "no generative AI is used in the production process."

The first Sekiro animation, 'Sekiro: No Defeat', premiered on the 20th. Given that the official footage features core bosses from the original title like Genichiro Ashina, Gyoubu Oniwa, and Lady Butterfly, it appears the production will follow the original story. However, the distinct, vibrant color palette has left some fans feeling divided.

The reason 'Sekiro: No Defeat' found itself in the eye of an AI storm is due to some awkward animation quirks. Viewers pointed out inconsistent character designs during action sequences, including one instance where a character appeared to have six fingers. Furthermore, the studio's official website previously stated they would "re-examine traditional methods and leverage the latest technology, including AI, to evolve their production processes and expressions."

'Sekiro: No Defeat' is scheduled to stream on the animation platform Crunchyroll starting in 2026.