The Humankind 2 trailer looks so much like AI the developer had to explain it's not
Humankind 2 has finally been revealed, with Amplitude showing off its new historical strategy game at Gamescom during the Opening Night Live event, although it’s the trailer rather than the game itself that has people stopping to ask the same awkward question we hear too often these days: was this made with AI?
I can see why fans have asked the question – the footage, which showed a montage of Earth through humanity's different ages, has those short, sharp edits and uncanny quality we’ve all become pretty familiar with in AI-generated video. Except Humankind 2's trailer isn't made using AI. Amplitude says the trailer was made with real actors, practical sets and custom-made props, which makes the whole thing more interesting and creative than prompting a video into reality, and should be celebrated and not questioned.
The studio made a formal statement on its official X account, stating clearly: "The HUMANKIND 2's live-action announcement trailer was filmed at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia using real actors, practical sets, and custom-made props created specifically for the production. We will be sharing behind-the-scenes images from the shoot soon."
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The trailer races through different periods of history, dropping us into scenes packed with costumes, characters, and elaborate environments, and a deliberately exaggerated first-person perspective runs through much of it too. A fisheye-style lens bends the edges of the image, stretching faces and rooms and giving the whole thing a strange, slightly surreal quality.
The reaction has been mixed, with some viewers convinced they’ve spotted AI artefacts, while others have pointed out that the footage looks much more like deliberately stylised cinematography, particularly when you take the fisheye lens and practical production into account. In fact, some on the studio's X account even blamed the developer for putting itself in the situation of being accused of AI, with X user 'centrist fan' writing, "you did kind of set yourself up there because I have seen 'historical figures doing a selfie' AI slop before, so making it the basis of your trailer was a decision".
The distinction between real and AI is becoming increasingly strange for artists and filmmakers to deal with because AI imagery has developed such a recognisable visual language so quickly. And this isn't the first time a studio or artist has been wrongly accused of using AI. We’ve got used to seeing certain kinds of faces, lighting, compositions and impossible camera moves in generated images, to the point where those choices can now make real footage look artificial.
And Humankind 2 is probably one of the more appropriate games to stumble into that particular argument because Amplitude’s original Humankind was built around letting players create their own version of history, mixing cultures and taking civilisations in directions that don’t necessarily follow the traditional historical timeline. The sequel expands that idea with new cultures, progression systems, and a revised interface, and is currently expected to launch on PC in 2027.
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Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.
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