On September 30th, OpenAI released the generative artificial-intelligence (AI) program Sora 2. Since its release, the program has been used to mass generate videos of copyrighted characters, including characters belonging to gaming company Nintendo. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has since addressed Sora 2 and its relationship with copyrighted imagery. Nintendo has not addressed Sora 2 directly, but the company has put out a general statement on copyright infringement and AI.

In Sora 2’s official release announcement, OpenAI describes the video generation program as “more physically accurate, realistic, and more controllable than prior systems.” Some more advanced features of Sora 2 include synchronized dialogue, sound effects, and a better reflection of the real-life laws of physics.

My favorite new trend in the Sora app is putting Pikachu in every movie.

This is “Saving Private Pikachu” pic.twitter.com/pV8JYUb9SZ

— Justine Moore (@venturetwins) October 1, 2025

Can’t think of any good uses for Sora 2 so I put Pikachu in Squid Game pic.twitter.com/fl2gmEpHAi

— Jon Bateman (@JonKBateman) October 2, 2025

Super Mario escapes from the game, Sora 2.

This could have easily been a high-end commercial just yesterday lol pic.twitter.com/DNIIbQIN0E

— Pietro Schirano (@skirano) October 1, 2025

However, many users would find Sora 2’s biggest upgrade to be its ability to accurately generate videos with copyrighted characters, including those from Nintendo’s Pokémon and Super Mario Bros franchises. For example, the program has been used to generate Pokémon’s mascot Pikachu into other intellectual properties (IPs), such as the movie Saving Private Ryan or the hit TV show Squid Games. Mario, the iconic face of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros series, has also had faux “commercials” generated using Sora 2. 

Many users were quick to point out the potential legal ramifications of Sora 2’s ability to generate copyrighted characters, leading to Altman posting a blog on the subject. Altman claims that Sora 2 will be adjusted to give “rightsholders more granular control over generation of characters, similar to the opt-in model for likeness but with additional controls.” Altman goes on to claim that Sora 2’s ability to generate “interactive fan fiction” will allow participating shareholders to “accrue a lot of value.” Given that users are generating more videos than expected, Altman also revealed OpenAI is “going to try sharing some of this revenue with rightsholders who want their characters generated by users.” Altman thanks Japanese companies and their IPs in particular by saying “we’d like to acknowledge the remarkable creative output of Japan–we are struck by how deep the connection between users and Japanese content is!” Whether or not Altman is referring to Nintendo in this statement remains unclear.

Contrary to recent discussions on the internet, Nintendo has not had any contact with the Japanese government about generative AI. Whether generative AI is involved or not, we will continue to take necessary actions against infringement of our intellectual property rights.

— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) October 5, 2025

While not addressing Sora 2 directly, Nintendo has put out an official statement regarding AI and copyright infringement. In a post on X, Nintendo stated that “whether generative AI is involved or not, we will continue to take necessary actions against infringement of our intellectual property rights.” The statement comes as no surprise, as Nintendo has previously taken legal actions against various parties due to copyright infringement. Ninetndo previously filed for a patent granting them ownership over vague ally summoning game-mechanics present in the Pokémon series, and also engaged in a copyright-related legal battle with the developers of Palworld. 

While OpenAI has limited user ability to generate copyrighted content with Sora 2, many of the generated videos with copyrighted Nintendo characters remain uploaded on social media. As such, Nintendo’s current perspective on Sora 2, and whether or not the company will pursue legal action against OpenAI, remains unclear.