steam game Post: Bullet Paradise It was canceled just one day after release due to criticism from fans over the use of AI art. Although the developer initially denied the allegations, the decision to end the Steam-exclusive title came from the publisher.
that postcard The franchise is owned by Running with Scissors (RWS), a company based in Tucson, Arizona. Since the series began in 1997, RWS has developed all but two entries. postal 3 (2011), co-developed with Trashmasters Mail: Brain Injury (2022), produced by Hyperstrange and CreativeForge Games. On December 3, RWS announced its third external development project. Post: Bullet ParadiseIt is described as a time travel shooter created by indie studio Goonswarm Games.
Mail: Bullet Paradise Canceled Due to Poor Public Reception
A day later RWS announced its cancellation. Post: Bullet Paradise. The publisher acknowledged widespread social media criticism that the project used AI-generated art, citing the overwhelmingly negative response from online communities as the reason for its decision. “We have halted the project because our trust in the development team has been broken,” RWS said in a prepared statement, but did not fully confirm fans' suspicions about the origins of some of the pieces. Post: Bullet ParadiseIt is the property of .
Mail: Bullet Paradise publisher issues temporary apology to fans
In a separate tweet, RWS issued a tentative apology to “anyone who felt insulted in the heat of the moment,” excluding those who sent death threats. Some fans criticized the phrase, claiming that the “heat of the moment” downplayed instances where company representatives allegedly insulted users on the RWS Discord server and, in some cases, used slurs. Post: Bullet Paradise Announced and canceled. One vocal fan wrote on Twitter: “They can still be forgiven, but whoever allowed the blatant insults should be exposed immediately.”
Post: Bullet Paradise Dev Rejects AI Art Criticism, Changes Mind
Goonswarm Games initially denied the AI art accusations on December 5, but simultaneously announced that it had decided to close the studio in response. A day later, the company issued another statement that included an apology for responding “emotionally and defensively.” The mistake, he said, was because the initial wave of allegations came as a shock. However, after an internal review, the studio changed its mind, admitting that “the promotional art appears to contain or be influenced by AI-generated material.” [sic]Goonswarm claimed that all in-game assets were created by “real artists,” and said that an internal review only identified issues with promotional videos, although it did not elaborate.
The company reiterated its intention to close the studio in a statement on December 6. But it also included a surprising promise to “replace all controversial promotional art across our projects with work created entirely by human artists.” This appears to be a response to social media users noting that some of Goonswarm's promotional banners used for other games show signs of being AI-generated, such as having a character wielding a sword without fingers. In a statement to Polygon, Goonswarm said the closure would affect a total of nine people, including full-time developers and contractors.
Running with Scissors is no stranger to controversy, but it is no stranger to backlash. postcard Games typically came from the general public rather than their own fan base. The publisher said this Post: Bullet Paradise More plans are currently in the works for the ongoing franchise, with the first plan set to be officially announced in 2026.
Source: Polygon
