The Alters, the thought-provoking sci-fi survival story from 11 bit studios, released earlier this month to positive reception for its deep narrative and psychological themes. However, the studio recently addressed community concerns regarding the use of AI-generated content within the game, issuing a transparent statement and outlining corrective steps.
🔍 What Happened?
During development, one of the game’s visual designers used AI-generated text as a placeholder for a minor background texture — essentially meant to fill space temporarily during the art process. That text was never intended to ship with the final version of the game, but due to an internal oversight, it made it into the release build. The studio has since identified the issue and confirmed that the placeholder will be replaced in an upcoming update.
“While we do not want to downplay the situation,” the developers noted, “we also want to clearly show its limited impact on your gaming experience.”
🎬 The Subtitles Matter Too
Another point of contention surrounded the in-game movies that various “Alters” — the multiple versions of the protagonist — can watch in the game’s social hub. These short films were created by external partners and added late in development. Because of tight localization deadlines, 11 bit studios used AI to translate subtitles for a few of these scenes at launch. The decision, they admit in hindsight, wasn’t ideal.
These translated segments represent only 0.3% of the game’s total dialogue, amounting to roughly 10,000 words out of 3.4 million. Still, the team acknowledges that they should have been upfront about using AI here, regardless of the scope.
“Even more so, no matter what we decided, we should have simply let you know.”
Work is now underway to replace those temporary AI subtitles with human-reviewed versions through 11 bit’s usual professional translation partners.
🧠 AI and the Future of Game Dev
In addressing these incidents, 11 bit studios reiterated their belief in meaningful, handcrafted storytelling — something The Alters has been widely praised for. They’ve committed to updating internal processes to better manage AI tools and ensure quality across every asset.
As AI tools become more common in development pipelines, this kind of transparency helps set expectations — and 11 bit’s approach here suggests a studio willing to take responsibility and course-correct.
🚀 About The Alters
Set on a hostile, sun-blasted planet, The Alters follows Jan, a lone worker who creates alternate versions of himself — “alters” — in a desperate bid for survival. It’s a philosophical exploration of choice, identity, and consequence wrapped in a tense sci-fi survival loop. Manage your base, build bonds (or conflict) with your alters, and piece together what’s real before your time runs out.
The Alters is available now on Steam, with continued updates planned.
For more, visit the official 11 bit studios website.
