The 100 Thieves AI merch controversy drew an apology from the esports and apparel brand Sept. 30, after fans spotted AI-generated details on a shirt from its upcoming Old School RuneScape collaboration. The group admitted that one of its designers used AI on a shirt teased a day earlier, Dexerto reported.
The dispute began Sept. 29, when the organization previewed a black shirt covered in RuneScape skill and interface icons. Players quickly spotted warped and unrecognizable symbols that suggested an AI image generator had been used.
What fans spotted in the 100 Thieves AI merch
According to Dexerto, fans pointed to a hockey mask in the Prayer slot, a distorted Defence icon, a malformed Fletching arrow and several symbols that didn’t match anything in the game.
Gaming creator Jake Lucky had shared the design, but both his post and the 100 Thieves posts were later deleted. “Both 100 thieves and Jake Lucky dirty deleted their posts after they got called out,” player Lainezor wrote, as quoted by Dexerto.
‘We messed up’
In its Sept. 30 statement, 100 Thieves said “we messed up.” The organization explained that one designer used AI to “hurriedly edit” the shirt in the final stage of production, and the sample went to a photo shoot before anyone reviewed it.
The group said “AI has no place in our apparel design,” a principle it said it shares with RuneScape developer Jagex, whose work is built on human creativity. It added that the shirt was meant to celebrate Old School RuneScape and RuneFest.
What happens next
100 Thieves apologized to the Old School RuneScape community and said it is working with Jagex to “make things right.” It has not said whether the shirt at the center of the 100 Thieves AI merch backlash will be redesigned or pulled. The full collaboration is scheduled to be revealed Oct. 2.
The 100 Thieves AI merch flap comes weeks after Jagex had a viral AI-made RuneScape clone called Elderwood taken down with a legal notice, Dexerto reported. For more, see our free MMO picks, the latest gaming news and our esports coverage.
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