The ID@Xbox program has been growing for years now, with an indie-focused team over at Microsoft using it to build relationships with developers and bring their games to Xbox and at times, Game Pass too. However, a now-deleted Christmas post from Team Green didn't do much to help public perception of Xbox and its indie program this week.
To put it simply, Xbox posted a Christmas message out to its social channels containing AI-generated art. The post was honest enough, but the accompanying image spoiled the team's message - and it was quickly deleted by the folks over at Xbox.
Here's what the image looked like before it was pulled:
Okay, so, maybe it was an honest mistake and the art wasn't supposed to be used in the first place - hence its removal. However, it's much more likely that Xbox quickly reacted to the poor reception this post had received in just a few hours. Here are some of the fan reactions to the AI image on Twitter:
We agree that it's not a great look for Microsoft to use AI art in any fashion to promote Xbox - let alone the team's indie program that supposedly does its best to showcase the most talented small developers in the industry. We sincerely hope that Xbox has learnt its lesson here, and that we don't see any more of this sort of thing crop up in future.