Games Workshop, maker of Warhammer 40,000, has confirmed it investigated "a few human errors" in its product marketing this year to check that staff had not used AI, following fan speculation over an oddly rendered image. The row centres on official artwork for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy, which appeared to show a Space Marine with six fingers, sparking concern among a fanbase that is broadly hostile to generative AI encroaching on the game's distinctive hand-drawn art style. The episode matters because Games Workshop has staked out a firm anti-AI position, and any hint that its imagery was AI-generated risks a significant backlash from loyal customers.

The extra-finger artwork, depicting Space Marines in MkIV "Maximus" armour, was published by Games Workshop itself on Warhammer Community, and the company said the anomaly arose from an artist "blending miniature photography with art," not AI, urging fans to "go easy" on its human artists. In January the firm had already banned AI use in its content production and design process, and in its latest financial report chief executive Kevin Rountree reiterated that stance, confirming that a small number of marketing depiction errors during the year were "investigated fully" to ensure AI had not been used and that staff had followed internal rules.