Humankind 2 trailer accused of being 'AI slop,' studio says nope: 'real actors, practical sets, and custom-made props'

HUMANKIND™ 2 - Announcement Trailer - YouTube

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Humankind 2 was announced today at Gamescom's Opening Night Live showcase, and I have to admit that I was among those who raised an eyebrow at the announcement trailer and wondered: Is this AI generated? A number of commenters speculated that it was.

Nope, says the studio.

"The Humankind 2 live-action announcement trailer was filmed at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia using real actors, practical sets, and custom-made props created specifically for the production," developer Amplitude Studios told PC Gamer over email. "We will be sharing behind-the-scenes images from the shoot soon."

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PC Gamer has seen a few of those photos, and they do indeed show actors on a sound stage with partial sets and a typical blue backdrop for compositing.

In my and the internet's defense, the trailer does have something of an AI look to it. From the fisheye perspective of recently-birthed infants, we're stared at uncannily by a prehistoric woman, a hollering Viking aboard a longship, an American settler in a wagon, and other new parents from throughout space and time.

In the backgrounds: a giant tornado, bandits on horseback, a nuclear explosion, outer space. The studio hasn't commented on how those special effects were created, but they may well just be old fashioned CGI. I've asked for clarification on that point.

As for the game, the first Humankind was decent—Fraser described it as "a solid 4X that could use a bit more personality" in his review—and the sequel will introduce "new progression systems, innovative features, enhanced visuals, a modernized UI, and gameplay improvements," according to Amplitude.

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Humankind 2 will release on PC in 2027, and there's a Steam page with more information live now.