Riot Calls Out Netflix For “Disrespectful” AI-Made Arcane Season 2 Poster

This weekend, Arcane Season 2 is wrapping up the show with a grand finale. But the League of Legends-inspired series apparently caused some friction between Riot Games and Netflix over an Arcane Season 2 promo poster that was created by AI.

A user on X going by eggbertith noticed the image and posted it online. The dead giveaway that it was AI-created is the anatomically incorrect hand, which is an area where AI imagery still struggles.

The image was subsequently removed from Netflix, and Arcane brand lead Alex Shahmir confirmed that the poster was made by AI. He also stated that it was against Riot Games’ policy of not using anything AI-related on Arcane because it would be “disrespectful to the incredible artists who worked on the show.”

While it’s unclear whether Netflix and Riot Games will team up for another animated series set in the world of League of Legends, the cost of Arcane Season 2 may have been the determining factor as to why the show ended there. According to a report in Variety earlier this month, Arcane is the most expensive animated series ever created and Riot Games is said to have spent $250 million to create and promote the series.

That report also revealed that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars directors Joe and Anthony Russo were hired to develop a live-action movie set in the League of Legends universe. But when the Russos and Riot parted ways over creative differences, the brothers received a $5 million payout before walking away from the project.