The staff behind the new open world, action role-playing, hack-and-slash video game NTE: Neverness to Everness released a statement on Thursday about generative AI use within the game. According to the statement, “the characters, stories, and world you experience are the work of artists, writers, and designers. AI-assisted tools were used only on a small number of background and environmental assets, not on the characters or stories that define this game.”

The NTE team added that it is “reviewing and reworking the flagged assets: ‘Clear Skies in Summer’ and ‘Pink Paws Heist’.”

The statement comes after players’ accusations that the game uses generative AI, particularly for the in-game fictional film Clear Skies in Summer (Natsubi no Aosora), apparently based on Makoto Shinkai‘s 2019 film Weathering With You.

ANN has not verified the Clear Skies in Summer assets in the game. An Instagram user posted a video of the “film’s” trailer within NTE. However, when ANN checked the cited location in the game four days after its April 29 launch, an apparent spoof of the Kamen Rider franchise was in its place.

Sources: NTE Global’s X/Twitter channel, NTE Global’s YouTube channel, via dr.jonyislive’s Instagram account, Hachima Kikō

Viz announced on Friday that it is collaborating with MLB Players, Inc., OneTeam Partners, and the BW NYC Studios of Japanese artist Acky Bright for the science fiction series GalaXic Baseball League. The series will launch exclusively on the Viz Manga app on July 2, with the first print volume shipping on October.

Viz describes the story:

In the distant future, baseball has rocketed into the cosmos. What was once America’s pastime is now a high-stakes interplanetary competition in which teams from every corner of the universe battle for glory. Amid a sinister plot to wreak havoc on the galaxy, legendary baseball players team up with two unlikely heroes in their quest to save Earth – and the heart and soul of baseball.

Viz credits Acky Bright with the story for what it describes as the first such IP that includes active baseball players. The artist cites the 2023 World Baseball Classic final as the inspiration for the project.

Acky Bright is a Japanese visual artist who has worked on projects for DC Comics and Marvel from his studios, including one in New York. He founded the design studio Brightworks in 2002. He was one among six artists chosen by Museum of Modern Art curator Paola Antonelli to demonstrate Japanese art to travelers to Japan. The Narita and Haneda Airports installed his manga-style video starting from February 2021. Acky Bright has designed merchandise for Hasbro‘s Transformers franchise. He has collaborated with BMW of Germany on the title Heroes of Rivalry featuring e-sports teams Cloud 9, FNATIC, FunPlus Phoenix, G2 Esports, T1, and OG Esports. More recently, Acky Bright drew the illustrations for a limited-time campaign for WcDonald’s.

MLB Players is the business arm of the Major League Baseball Players Association, which represents all professional baseball players of the 30 Major League Baseball teams in collective bargaining and licensing. OneTeam Partners is a joint venture of the NFL Players Association, MLB Players Association, Women’s National Basketball Players Association, MLS Players Association, and U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association for sports licensing, marketing, sponsorship, and media.

Source: Press release