SonicFox Withdraws From Nexcon 2026 Over AI-Generated Promo

Dominique “SonicFox” McLean has cancelled their planned appearance at Nexcon 2026 after objecting to promotional artwork that used an AI-generated version of their likeness. The fighting game competitor said their contract had been terminated, turning a dispute over a flyer into the loss of a convention guest.

The promotional material prompted SonicFox to publicly reject being depicted through generative AI. Their objection concerned how they were represented in advertising for an event they had agreed to attend, rather than an unrelated image circulating online. They subsequently confirmed they would no longer participate.

Nexcon is a gaming, anime and creator-focused convention organized by Ninjutsu Entertainment in Norman, Oklahoma. The cancellation puts the event’s promotional practices at the center of an exchange about the relationship between organizers, invited guests and the artists who produce material for such gatherings.

Ninjutsu Entertainment co-founder Ty Bailey responded with a video acknowledging the use of generative AI and apologizing. According to reporting on his response, Bailey accepted responsibility for the flyer and asked SonicFox to reconsider. His appeal did not dispute the central complaint that the promotional image had been made using the technology.

Bailey attributed the decision to financial and staffing pressures. He said he and his business partner were organizing the convention alongside full-time jobs and lacked money to hire artists for the promotional work. He also described their inexperience running conventions as part of the circumstances behind the choice.

His explanation included another complication: Bailey said artists had become unwilling to work with the organizers after they started using AI-generated material. That was his account of the difficulty securing creative help, not an independently established explanation for individual artists’ decisions. The apology nevertheless acknowledged that the organizers’ approach had damaged a relationship with an invited guest.

SonicFox accepted Bailey’s apology but maintained that they would not attend. In their response, they distinguished forgiveness from reversing the consequences of the decision. They suggested directing the money offered under their appearance contract toward hiring artists instead, making human creative work central to their proposed remedy.

The exchange illustrates a practical risk for event organizers using generated images of their guests: promotional choices can affect whether those guests remain involved. Here, an apology and an explanation of limited resources were not enough to restore the appearance. SonicFox’s response also made clear that accepting remorse did not mean endorsing the original decision.

Bailey said the convention would continue and expressed hope that SonicFox would return. SonicFox left open the possibility of reconsidering a future edition, but made no commitment to do so. For the 2026 event, their stated position remained that the contract was terminated and they would not attend.