Recreate Games has fully cancelled its AI-generated video competition for Party Animals, the adorable multiplayer brawler where squishy critters beat each other senseless. According to Eurogamer, the cancellation follows a wave of community backlash that was apparently too powerful to block, dodge, or parry.
Last week, the studio had already thrown out an apology after the contest - which asked players to submit AI-generated videos - drew significant heat from its fanbase. Recreate Games admitted they had 'overlooked the potential offense and harm' the competition could cause. Spoiler alert: that apology did not complete the quest.
From mea culpa to full retreat
Rather than trying to patch the situation with some hotfix PR spin, Recreate Games went nuclear and scrapped the whole thing. It's a full rollback to a previous save state, except the community has a long memory and autosave was definitely on.
The AI video contest was a curious choice for a game whose entire charm runs on handcrafted chaos and couch-co-op energy. Asking the fanbase to generate AI content for a game built around playful, human-made fun is a bit like showing up to a potluck with a 3D-printed sandwich - technically food, but nobody asked for it.
A familiar pattern in the industry
This is becoming a well-worn speedrun category in gaming: studio announces AI initiative, community activates rage mode, studio issues apology, community keeps rage mode active, studio cancels initiative. Recreate Games just set a new personal best in that particular run.
To their credit, pulling the plug entirely rather than doubling down is at least the kind of self-awareness many studios fumble. Whether the Party Animals community is ready to forgive and forget - or whether they'll keep throwing haymakers in the comments - remains to be seen. Either way, the controller has been dropped on this one.
