Party Animals' studio finally cancels its AI video contest and promises to approach topics like this in the future 'with a much more humble and cautious attitude'

It's official: there will be no AI video contest as part of Party Animals "Golden Paw Awards", as its studio has decided after masses of player backlash followed by a vote across major platforms to wholly cancel the event and apologise to players.

"Regarding the controversy surrounding the recent 'Golden Paw Awards' AI Video Contest, we would like to offer our deepest apologies," the studio says in a social media post. "To all players who have expressed concern, shared criticism, and voiced their opinions—especially to our creator community.

"To the players who were troubled, disappointed, or offended by this situation, we would like to once again express our sincere apologies. To every player who voiced criticism, participated in the vote, and pushed us to re-evaluate this issue, we would like to express our most sincere gratitude."

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The studio went on to explain that, on reflection, its original handling of the situation was "insufficient". Although, certainly in the right ballpark that may be a slight understatement. After announcing the original AI video contest and encountering masses of backlash from all sorts of players, its initial response was to ponder whether the event should go ahead anyway.

(Image credit: Recreate Games)

"Even though our original intention was to encourage more diverse forms of creative expression and lower the barrier to entry, allowing more players who love Party Animals to participate," the studio explains.

"We mistakenly tied 'lowering the barrier' together with 'using AI.' In doing so, we overlooked the potential offense and harm that the ongoing debate surrounding AI-generated content could cause to our players and the creator community. We feel deeply uneasy and apologetic about this, and we sincerely accept the criticism."

There's no question that this was the right move for Party Animals, even if it did come a little late. But following on from the apology the devs have promised that this will be a learning experience for them, and will take more care around using and promoting AI over real artists in the future.

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"Moving forward, we will approach related topics with a much more humble and cautious attitude," the studio says. "Before launching any future community creation events, we pledge to communicate thoroughly, listen earnestly to your feedback, and ensure we have reached a community consensus before deciding whether to go ahead… We hereby promise to listen more closely to our players, respect your voices, and maintain a tighter line of communication with the community."