Fighting game champion Dominique “SonicFox” McLean has terminated a contract to appear as a special guest at Nexcon 2026 after the convention promoted them with an AI-generated image of their likeness. The SonicFox Nexcon split began when the player was tagged in a social media post highlighting a flyer for the event, which is scheduled for Nov. 14-15 in Norman, Oklahoma.
SonicFox first responded on X on Tuesday, saying the promotional flyer appeared to use an AI-generated version of their likeness.
“Not sure who’s in charge of Nexcon but I absolutely refuse to have my likeness be AI-generated, and my interest in attending as a special guest has dropped to 0,” SonicFox wrote on X. “Incredibly disrespectful.”
Later that night, SonicFox made it official: “Update: Contract terminated and no longer attending! :3,” they posted.
What Nexcon 2026 Used And What The Cancellation Means
The dispute started when X user Z2WJustin tagged SonicFox in a post pointing out the Nexcon 2026 flyer, which appeared to be AI-generated. Dragon Ball voice actor Kara Edwards, also listed as a special guest on the Nexcon 2026 website, was tagged in the same post, according to Dexerto.
With the contract terminated, the fighting game star will no longer appear at the Oklahoma event next month.
How Ninjutsu Entertainment Responded
Ty Bailey, one of the founders of event organizer Ninjutsu Entertainment, answered with a video on X. In it, he took full responsibility for using generative AI to make the flyer and said he and his business partner don’t like the technology but didn’t have the money to hire artists, Kotaku reported. Bailey said the company never meant to disrespect SonicFox and asked them to reconsider.
“We’re not gonna stop the con, but we definitely need you SonicFox,” Bailey said in the video.
SonicFox replied Wednesday morning with a measured but firm message. “I’m a forgiving person and I can hear the remorse in your voice so I forgive you,” SonicFox wrote. “However, there are still consequences to said actions that will prompt me not to attend.”
SonicFox also told the organizer to put the money it had offered for the appearance toward hiring artists, adding, “maybe next year I’ll reconsider.”
Z2WJustin later posted that the organizers had reached out to them, saying the company was working with real artists to fix the promotional material and trying to ban AI-generated art from its platform entirely, Dexerto reported.
Background On The Fallout
SonicFox is widely known in the fighting game community for championship results across multiple titles. The cancellation adds to a broader conversation in esports and gaming spaces over how organizers use AI tools in promotional work tied to real competitors and personalities.
Edwards hasn’t commented publicly on the flyer, and there’s no word on whether her scheduled appearance at Nexcon 2026 has changed.
What’s Next
Nexcon 2026 is still scheduled for Nov. 14-15 in Norman, Oklahoma. According to the X user who first flagged the flyer, Ninjutsu Entertainment is working with artists on corrected promotional material and pursuing a ban on AI-generated art, but the organizer hasn’t publicly detailed what those fixes will include.
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