GOG, an online store where you can download computer games, has gotten into trouble for using pictures made by artificial intelligence (AI) in its advertising. People are also unhappy because the company hasn’t given a clear answer about whether it will continue to use this technology down the road.

The artwork that caused all the fuss was a banner for a sale happening in 2026. Someone who works for GOG, likely an artist, spoke up on a GOG online message board and confirmed that the picture was indeed made with AI. This caused a big stir. Because of this, questions about using AI were among the first things GOG was asked during an online question-and-answer session on Reddit yesterday.

When asked about the negative reactions and if GOG would stop using AI-made art in the future, Maciej Gołębiowski, the managing director, said: “We’re not going to make any final decisions right now. AI tools are just one of many new technologies we’re trying out. In some situations, it really helps us move the company and our goals forward.”

He added, “What we will change, though, is how and where these tools are used. We understand that just because something is new technology doesn’t mean we should stop using our own good judgment.” His answer didn’t do much to calm down the angry crowd.

I reached out to GOG and Mr. Gołębiowski this morning for more details, but I was told they wouldn’t add anything to what had already been said. However, I did have a long talk with Mr. Gołębiowski back in January for an interview about GOG becoming a private company, and we did discuss AI at that time.

“Every technology at some point finds its way to be put to good use”

Mr. Gołębiowski told me then: “We are not using AI right now, but we’ve seen cases where groups of people have used AI or special computer programs to look at all the computer code available for a game. They look at all the instructions and documents for a game to try and make it work better, or to make it run on a different computer system or different equipment. AI is quite good at understanding a lot of information and then figuring out what steps to take based on that information.”

He continued, “We haven’t done this ourselves yet, but I’m sure that at some point, AI – not necessarily AI that creates art or code – will be used to help save old games. Every new technology eventually finds a good use. It’s just that the path to finding that good use is usually bumpy and uncertain. So, we haven’t used it yet, but I’m not saying we won’t in the future. If it can help us with our main goal, then we will use it.”

To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings

GOG’s main purpose from the beginning, and still today, is to fix up and keep old computer games alive, whether they are very old or just older modern games. They want to make sure these games can be played well in the future without being locked down by special copy protection. This often means a lot of hard work for GOG, which is why using AI to help with some of that work seems appealing.

But GOG is also a store that sells newer games, both from small independent creators and bigger companies. They are proud of being careful about what they sell and of listening to their customers. GOG earned a lot of respect last year when they sold a challenging independent horror game called “Horses,” which other stores like Epic and Steam wouldn’t sell. “As a company, we are always ready to stand up for the right values,” Maciej Gołębiowski told me about that decision. This statement now seems to clash with what the company is saying about using AI-made art.

GOG recently became its own private company after always being a part of CD Projekt, the company behind famous games like The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077. One good thing that might come from this is that GOG won’t be held back by that huge game-making business. This means it can be more flexible and take more chances, as the new owner, Michał Kiciński, recently explained to me. I wonder if this current situation will be an important moment for the company in its new chapter.