Activision uses generative AI tools to generate some in-game visual assets for Call of Duty titles including Black Ops 6, Warzone, and Black Ops 7, such as calling cards, loading screens, prestige icons, and at least one paid cosmetic bundle. Activision confirmed this via mandatory Steam disclosures beginning in February 2025, after players flagged suspicious AI artifacts in multiple assets. A Wired investigation published in July 2024 reported that remaining 2D artists were required to use AI tools following layoffs of 2D artist positions.

The first reported incident was the Yokai's Wrath cosmetic bundle for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, released in December 2023 at 1,500 COD Points (roughly $15); a Wired investigation published in July 2024 reported that the bundle was made at least in part with generative AI, without disclosure to buyers. During the Black Ops 6 Season 1 holiday event in December 2024, players widely circulated a loading screen showing a zombie Santa with six fingers, a visual error commonly associated with AI image generators. In January 2025, Steam introduced a mandatory AI disclosure requirement; Activision subsequently added a statement to the Black Ops 6 and Warzone Steam pages reading: "Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets." After Black Ops 7 launched on November 14, 2025, players flagged calling cards styled after Studio Ghibli animation and prestige icons as likely AI-generated; Activision issued a statement saying it uses AI tools to "empower and support" its teams and that its creative process "continues to be led by the talented individuals" in its studios. The Wired investigation found that Activision's then-CTO approved generative AI tools including Midjourney and Stable Diffusion for concept art in early 2023, and by mid-2023 had approved AI use for concept art and marketing materials; following Microsoft layoffs that, according to an anonymous source, disproportionately affected 2D artists, remaining concept artists were reportedly required to use AI tools and enroll in AI training. U.S. Representative Ro Khanna publicly called for regulations following the Black Ops 7 AI art controversy in November 2025.