A new open-world RPG generating real buzz was always going to face scrutiny. But the scrutiny hitting Neverness to Everness right now cuts deeper than a bad launch patch or server issues. Developer Hotta Studio has officially responded to accusations that AI-generated assets were included in the game, and the statement reads less like a denial and more like a quiet admission.
What Hotta actually said
Posted via the official NTE X account, Hotta Studio's statement acknowledged that AI was used on "a small number of background and environmental assets." The studio was careful to add that this does not affect the "characters or stories that define this game," framing the issue as limited in scope. The developer also pledged to review the flagged assets, with replacement being the implied next step.
Here's the thing: the statement is measured, but it still amounts to a confirmation. Players and content creators who raised the alarm were right.
Hotta Studio's statement specifically limits the AI usage claim to background and environmental assets. Character designs and story content were not cited as affected, though the studio has not provided a full audit.
The creator fallout that made this impossible to ignore
The controversy picked up serious momentum when vtuber Ironmouse reportedly stated that the studio had directly denied including AI assets, only for evidence to surface suggesting otherwise. That kind of contradiction, if accurate, is a different problem entirely from a studio quietly using AI tools. It points to active misrepresentation to creators who were brought on to promote the game.
For the influencer and content creator community, trust is the whole game. Partnerships depend on it. When a developer allegedly tells a creator one thing and does another, the fallout extends well beyond one game's asset pipeline.
Why this lands harder for a freshly launched title
Neverness to Everness launched with 35 million pre-registrations and strong early reception as an open-world RPG. That kind of momentum is genuinely hard to build. The AI controversy does not erase the work of the human developers behind the game's characters, writing, and systems, but it does put the studio's credibility on the clock.
The players who stuck around through the backlash will now be watching whether Hotta follows through on the review pledge with actual replacements, or whether the statement quietly disappears into the news cycle. That distinction matters.
What comes next for the community
For players still engaged with the game, the practical experience has not changed overnight. The combat, the builds, and the progression systems remain what they were at launch. If you are still optimizing your setup, our best PC settings guide and our best Nanally build are still worth checking out while the studio works through its asset review.
The bigger question is institutional. Hotta Studio now needs to demonstrate, not just state, that the review is real and that the affected assets are being replaced with human-made work. A pledge in a tweet is a starting point. Actual follow-through is what rebuilds confidence.
Watch for an official update from Hotta on the scope of the review and a timeline for replacements. That announcement, whenever it comes, will tell you far more than this initial statement did.
