Square Enix Replaces Kingdom Hearts I–III Cover After AI Backlash

Square Enix is facing fresh scrutiny over the cover art for Kingdom Hearts I–III Collection ahead of its release on Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S. After fans criticized the original artwork as potentially AI-generated, the publisher removed it and replaced it with a redesigned cover—though some players say the new version still includes “suspicious” details.

What changed with the Kingdom Hearts I–III Collection cover

Fans initially flagged multiple oddities they believed pointed to generative AI being used for design work. While the company never made any formal claim at the time, players pointed to visual issues such as Donald Duck having an inconsistent number of fingers on each hand, a distorted clock face/telltale clock hands, and “infinite” looking zippers on the protagonists’ clothing.

Following the backlash, the Kingdom Hearts team removed the original cover art and swapped in a redesigned version. The update addressed several of the problems fans highlighted—particularly the issues tied to Donald’s hands—but the replacement still reportedly contains other strange elements.

Square Enix’s response: no generative AI, only human errors

Square Enix denied that its graphic team used generative AI to create the Kingdom Hearts I–III Collection artwork. In a statement shared through GameSpot, a company spokesperson said the development team created the graphics without generative AI and that the issues were caused by human mistakes.

The spokesperson also emphasized that fan and overall quality feedback matters greatly to the company, explaining that the first cover was changed because the team considered both quality and player opinion to be “extremely important.” They added that improvements were implemented in the needed resources.

In the same statement, the spokesperson said: “We are aware of the comments about the recent Kingdom Hearts graphics. These graphics elements were created by our development team without the use of generative AI, and the problems were due to human errors.” They concluded by reiterating that quality is a priority and that fixes were made where necessary.

Which issues fans say remain on the redesigned cover

Players who reviewed the revised cover say some concerns were resolved while others persisted. Reported remaining issues include:

Sora’s belt
No crowns on the shoes
Details of the Keyblade carried by Mickey Mouse

At the same time, fans note that the problems with Donald’s hands were fixed in the redesigned artwork.

Release date and platforms

Kingdom Hearts I–III Collection launches on October 9 for Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S, where players will be able to judge the overall presentation beyond the cover controversy—especially after earlier Switch versions faced criticism for cloud-based approaches.