Level-5 CEO Akihiro Hino has apologized for the company’s use of artificial intelligence in its latest showcase, saying the technology was used to make the presentation more visually striking. The statement followed the September 10, 2026, broadcast of LEVEL5 VISION 2026 II 夢, a presentation that highlighted several major game projects, including Professor Layton and the Curious Village and Yōkai Watch 2: Haunted Domain.
For fans of visually driven storytelling—from games and anime to webtoons and digital comics—the clarification matters because it draws a line between AI-assisted production tools and the human-created characters, scenarios, and worlds that define a franchise’s identity.
Hino Apologizes for the Presentation’s AI Use
In a statement issued after the presentation, Hino said Level-5 had incorporated “cutting-edge AI” as an experiment while trying to create a presentation with a powerful visual impact. He acknowledged that the decision may have offended some viewers and offered a sincere apology.
Hino’s wording suggests that the company’s concern was not simply whether AI could be used, but how prominently it appeared in a public-facing showcase. Presentations for long-running series function as carefully controlled introductions to a studio’s creative values. When automated or AI-assisted imagery becomes noticeable, viewers may begin questioning how much of what they are seeing represents the final game and how much reflects an experiment in presentation design.
That distinction is especially important for a company built around recognizable visual identities. Level-5’s catalog includes series with highly specific artistic signatures, from the storybook mystery atmosphere of Professor Layton to the colorful character-driven worlds of Yōkai Watch and Fantasy Life.
Level-5 Says Core Creative Work Remains Human-Made
Hino emphasized that Level-5 creates the elements responsible for the appeal and uniqueness of its titles—including scenarios, character designs, and basic world-building—“entirely by human hands.” He also explained that the studio’s main goal is to use AI for converting human-made assets into digital assets, such as polygon models, rather than replacing the creative foundation of a game.
That description places Level-5’s approach closer to production assistance than fully automated authorship. In practical terms, the company is presenting AI as a tool for handling parts of the conversion and implementation process after artists and designers have established the underlying material.
For digital-comics readers, the comparison is familiar. A webtoon may begin with a writer’s script, character sheets, and hand-produced artwork before entering stages involving lettering, color adjustment, 3D references, compositing, or promotional design. The tools used in those stages can affect efficiency, but they do not automatically define the story’s voice. The creative question is where authorship resides and whether the audience can still recognize the human intent behind the work.
The Two-Year Development Goal
According to Hino, time saved through AI-assisted asset conversion has been redirected toward further creative development. Level-5 is currently testing and refining its methods as part of an effort to reduce the development cycle for major titles from approximately five years to two.
That ambition helps explain why the company is experimenting publicly, even if the presentation created discomfort. Large-scale games require years of writing, visual development, programming, animation, localization, and testing. Shortening that process without reducing quality would be a major advantage, particularly for a studio managing several established franchises at once.
Still, the shorter schedule remains a goal rather than a confirmed new production standard. Hino described Level-5 as being in a testing and refinement phase, meaning the company is evaluating what works before treating the approach as a reliable part of its wider development pipeline.
What Level 5 Showcased
The nearly hour-long presentation featured a broad selection of upcoming and returning projects. The lineup included Yōkai Watch 2: Haunted Domain, Pufflings: Journey Through a Fantasy World, DECAPOLICE, Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold, and HOLY HORROR MANSION.
Level-5 also presented Inazuma Eleven: Cross, Inazuma Eleven Rekka no Kakumei, and Professor Layton and the Curious Village. A short making-of video for the Professor Layton project offered a behind-the-scenes look at the game, while the company also previewed its planned Tokyo Game Show 2026 booth.
The breadth of the showcase made the AI discussion more significant. This was not a presentation centered on one experimental project; it was a broad statement about the future of one of Japan’s most recognizable game studios. Any unusual visual choices were therefore likely to attract attention from fans comparing new footage with the established look of familiar franchises.
A Lesson in Creative Transparency
Hino ended his statement by reiterating that Level-5 had used AI during the presentation to make it “striking,” while promising that the company would treat the response as a lesson for future events. That acknowledgment does not settle every question surrounding AI in entertainment production, but it does clarify the company’s stated position: human creators remain responsible for the core creative material, while AI is being tested as a production and presentation tool.
For readers who follow game adaptations, anime announcements, or serialized digital storytelling, the larger issue will be how clearly companies communicate that division of labor. A polished trailer, character reveal, or promotional image is often a viewer’s first contact with a project. If experimental technology changes the appearance of that material, audiences deserve to know what they are looking at—and what they should expect from the finished work.
Level-5’s next presentation may therefore be judged not only by the games it showcases, but also by how openly it explains the tools behind those images. The company has promised to apply what it learned, leaving its future presentations to demonstrate whether that lesson changes the balance between technological experimentation and creative trust.
Sources
- animenewsnetwork.com
- level5.co.jp
