The game that's all about drawing and creativity, Gartic Phone, adds and then swiftly removes an AI mode, in 'a straight-up slap in the face to any and all artists'

GamesPuzzleThe game that’s all about drawing and creativity, Gartic Phone, adds and then swiftly removes an AI mode, in ‘a straight-up slap in the face to any and all artists’When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Onrizon)

A pigeon holding a phone standing next to a pig and a unicorn

Over the weekend, the artistic version of Broken Telephone or pictionary with extra steps known as Gartic Phone added and then quickly removed an AI art mode, and many of the artists who have been supporting and propping this game up with streams and videos are not happy, with some boycotting the game permanently.

Usually, Gartic Phone involves someone coming up with a phrase and then a group of people taking turns to draw and then describe said thing in a Broken Telephone meets pictionary-type game. There are also loads of different iterations of this format you can enjoy, like animating scenes, or drawing things in the dark, which are all pretty creative. However, a new AI mode that was in beta on American and Japanese servers over the weekend broke this theme.

The mode let players type in a phrase and then watch as Gartic’s AI drew an image to the best of its ability. From thevideos taken when the mode was still available, all of the drawings look funky, to say the least, as its pictures are clearly an uncanny amalgamation of different images found on the internet and thrown together.

I wasnt there but my friends did a thing with it pic.twitter.com/gYpP9pCpVTApril 21, 2024

If you want to check it out for yourself now, you can’t—Gartic Phone removed the mode almost as soon as it went up due to numerous artists voicing their outrage. “If anyone hasn’t seen, @Gartic added an AI mode to gartic phone,” digital artist and VtuberArtWomble explains in a tweet. “Which, for anyone who has any knowledge of the digital art landscape, knows is a straight-up slap in the face to any and all artists in the space. Adding a mode that uses art that’s unethically ripped from artists all over the Internet is a damn disgrace, and I can’t in good conscience continue to support a company who thinks this is okay.”

“Gartic Phone owes a lot of its current popularity to artists who not only put millions of eyes on the game but showed that it could even be used as an exciting collaborative tool,” artistOponok says in a tweet. “What a damning way to shoot yourself in the foot for completely short-term novelty.”

It’s also a bit of a pointless mode. If you want to create strange pictures with AI, then there are plenty of ways to do that already. But I always thought that the point of Gartic Phone was to give creativity a go, even if you can’t draw to save your life. I’ve had tons of games that were made better because none of my friends have an artistic bone in their body, and it means no one can figure out if someone drew Mr. Grumpy or a bus; or if someone spelled desert wrong, so now we have four pictures of a poorly drawn camel standing on top of a chocolate cake. Getting an AI to do the drawing for you feels like it removes most of the fun and chaos from Gartic Phone.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

There hasn’t been a public post about the failed AI mode yet, as it was only up for about 16 hours. But hopefully, this means that the web browser game will stick to what it’s good at, making space for creatives to do what they do best.

More about puzzleTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetToday’s Wordle answer for Thursday, January 9LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10See more latest►

More about puzzleTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetToday’s Wordle answer for Thursday, January 9

More about puzzle

Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetToday’s Wordle answer for Thursday, January 9

A map of an alien planet

Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet

Wordle today puzzle on a smartphone

Today’s Wordle answer for Thursday, January 9

LatestToday’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10See more latest►

Latest

Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10

Today’s Wordle being played on a phone

Today’s Wordle answer for Friday, January 10

See more latest►

Most PopularTrack down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planetOld meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skillHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterFallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA firesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process’I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel RivalsLenovo’s rollable laptop screen isn’t just a CES party trick—you’ll be able to pick one up yourself in JuneNvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s simple reminder that useful quantum computing is a long way off has somehow caused industry stocks to plummetAfter 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my listIf you love a big laptop without a big price tag, this RTX 4070 17.3-incher is an ideal pick at $1,300

Most Popular

Track down a missing person in this ‘Geoguessr-inspired detective game’ set on an alien planet

Old meets new as classic MMO players worship a famous Vtuber via gifts of bones so she can max out the Prayer skill

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter

Fallout season 2 filming delayed due to massive LA fires

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

The Freewrite Wordrunner with a built-in word counter might be the keyboard to look out for if you want to improve your writing process

‘I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

Lenovo’s rollable laptop screen isn’t just a CES party trick—you’ll be able to pick one up yourself in June

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang’s simple reminder that useful quantum computing is a long way off has somehow caused industry stocks to plummet

After 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list

If you love a big laptop without a big price tag, this RTX 4070 17.3-incher is an ideal pick at $1,300

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals