Fallen Dev Responds to AI Trailer Backlash: “Placeholders Briefly Escaped Context,” Core is Real UE5 Work

Superboo Studios founder Brooke Burgess has addressed widespread accusations that the reveal trailer for his upcoming indie action-adventure Fallen was riddled with generative AI, clarifying that AI elements were limited “placeholders” in an early funding pitch – not a final product.

The trailer, exclusively premiered by IGN last week, drew sharp criticism online. Viewers branded it “AI slop,” with YouTube comments lamenting “Woof. Any way to unreveal it?” and “can’t wait to not touch this with a 10-foot pole.” Others questioned, “Are game companies even aware of how controversial using AI art is?”

In statements to IGN, TheGamer, and others, Burgess explained: “What ended up being shared as an ‘official trailer’ was actually our early dev ‘tone pitch,’ i.e., a work-in-progress UE5 teaser designed for funding discussions.” The AI-generated bits? “Specifically some 2D test assets used to explore mood and presentation (for example, how ‘lost souls’ and fallen angels in the game might react when spoken to and judged, along with [work-in-progress] HUD elements).” These were “never intended as final content.”

Everything else, he stressed, is legit: “Gameplay, environments, cinematics, and combat is real, in-engine UE5.4 work.” Writing is all his (“no LLMs”), audio is bespoke, voiceover comes from colleague Kasper Michaels, and implementation was a close collaboration with his lead.

Fallen casts players as Astra, a fallen angel avenging through Hell’s depths, judging demons, lost souls, and fellow fallen to end eternal suffering. It’s an “Xbox 360-era inspired character action game” evoking Hyper Light Drifter and Death’s Door with a biblical twist, headed to PC and consoles – no release date yet.
Burgess isn’t anti-AI entirely: His studio’s pitch deck mentions it for QA, 2D animation, prototyping, and localization as a “force multiplier” amid funding woes. “Every publisher I’ve talked to has brought up: ‘So, have you thought about how AI might be able to save money on this?’ Almost all of them,” he revealed. Still, he’s clear: “I’m not waving the flag of AI by any stretch,” and going forward, “everything from the studio ‘will be made by humans.'”

The saga highlights gaming’s heated AI debate, from Larian’s concept art experiments to SNK’s Fatal Fury trailer flak. For Fallen, the “context collapse” turned a private pitch into public scrutiny – but Burgess hopes it spotlights the real work beneath.