Awaken Realms has confirmed that its upcoming Concordia: Special Edition will contain no AI-generated artwork in the finished product, following a wave of community backlash on BoardGameGeek that saw the game's rating tank to just 4.7 out of 10.
The controversy erupted after the game's unveiling in late February, when dozens of early BGG ratings gave the title a 1 — the lowest possible score — with most citing concerns about AI art. A counter-movement of users scoring the game 10 followed, but the damage to the rating was already done.
In a Gamefound update on 18 March, Awaken Realms said it "feel[s] that the current situation is really not respectful toward our artists" before confirming "in the final game, there will be no AI art" and that "human artists will be involved in everything." The publisher did note it would continue using AI tools for mock-ups and early concept work, pointing out that even Photoshop now includes built-in AI features.
This is not the first time Awaken Realms has faced this issue — the company previously removed AI art from its deluxe edition of Puerto Rico in 2024 after similar backlash.
PD-Verlag, Concordia's original publisher, also weighed in. Editor Jan Philip Sommerlade stated on BGG that "it was very important to us that artificial intelligence will not be used" and revealed that their licensing contract explicitly prohibits AI-generated content in the final product.
The episode highlights the ongoing tension in the hobby over AI-generated art, particularly in premium crowdfunded editions of beloved classic games.