POSTAL: Bullet Paradise has been canceled and the studio shut down following controversy surrounding AI
, by Thibaut
This absolutely crazy story has just reached its conclusion! Announced last week, POSTAL: Bullet Paradise has finally been canceled shortly after its initial presentation.
This bullet-heaven spin-off with online co-op was criticized by fans of the Postal franchise. They accused developer Goonswarm Games of using generative AI to design game assets. These accusations did not sit well with Mike Jaret-Schachter, co-owner of publisher Running With Scissors.
He lashed out at internet users on Discord, denying the use of artificial intelligence and calling them “ignorant assholes.” The company's community manager also called the players “morons.” For its part, the studio Goonswarm Games was a little more respectful, publishing files intended to prove that AI had not been used. Unfortunately, elements studied by the community once again cast doubt on this claim.
Finally, Running With Scissors published a statement on X that resembled a U-turn. The publisher stated that its trust in the studio had been “broken, so POSTAL: Bullet Paradise has ended up being canceled and Goonswarm Games shut down.
"After revealing POSTAL: Bullet Paradise, a title Running With Scissors was planning on publishing but not developing, we've been overwhelmed with negative responses from our concerned POSTAL Community.
*The strong feedback from them is that elements of the game are very likely AI-generated and thus has caused extreme damage to our brand and our company reputation. *
We’ve always been, and will always be, transparent with our community. Our trust in the development team is broken, therefore we've killed the project. We have a lot of good things coming (some you know and some you don’t).
We'd like of course to apologize to anyone who felt insulted in the heat of the moment and we thank you for raising concerns at the time. As for those who specifically sent us death threats, the apology does not apply."
In a statement, the developer maintained that it had not used generative AI and said it had shut down.
"Our project, and everything we built over the past six years, was canceled in just a few days. Our studio was mistakenly accused of using AI-generated art in our games, and every attempt to clarify our work only escalated the situation. In the last few hours, we've received a large number of threats, insults and mockery, which pushed us toward a very difficult decision.
We're truly sorry for the artists who put their soul into this and supported our studio, only to face false AI accusations. It's tough to pour so much enery into a game and end up caught in the middle of an AI war by accident.
We've decided to shut down the studio and end all future activities. Thank you for being with us. Stay strong, play games."