Update []:

Goonswarm Games, the studio that was developing Postal: Bullet Paradise, has announced it will be closing its doors.

The bullet heaven action game, based on the controversial Postal series, was announced and then cancelled in the space of two days because of a massively negative response and widespread accusations of using AI to generate assets.

Following this action from the publisher to cancel the project, Goonswarm Games has followed up with its own statement on the matter, concluding that it will be ceasing operations altogether.

This statement, which insists the team was "mistakenly accused" of utilising generative AI tools, says the studio will be shut down "and end all future activities".

A day later, another statement from Goonswarm Games was issued:

This statement apologies for the studio's defensive reaction to the situation, and admits that AI-generated material is used in the "promo art".

This comes after an "internal review", after which the team found that the community's "concerns were valid".

"We previously announced the closure of the studio, but even in this state we feel responsible for the outcome," the statement continues. "As far as our remaining resources allow, we will replace all disputed promo art across our projects with pieces created entirely by human artists. It will take time, but we will do it."

Original Story: Earlier this week saw the announcement of Postal: Bullet Paradise, a Vampire Survivors-esque "bullet heaven" title based on the longstanding shooter franchise.

However, before you get too excited, know that the PS5/PS4 game has been cancelled — just two days following its official announcement.

This is because the game saw an "overwhelmingly negative" response from the community, all revolving around accusations of heavy generative AI usage.

For reference, here's the announce trailer:

The video does appear to have some AI elements — the voice work is suspect, as is the art in the non-gameplay segments.

The game was due to be published by Running with Scissors and developed by Goonswarm Games, but after the intense reaction from the public, the publisher has cancelled and distanced itself from the project.

Here's the full statement from Running with Scissors founder, Vince Desi:

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).

Since forming Running With Scissors in 1996, we’ve always said that our fans are part of the team. Our priority is to always do right by the millions who support the POSTAL franchise. We are grateful for the opportunity to make the games we want to play, and will continue to focus on our new projects and updates coming in 2026 and beyond. We can’t wait to share more!

Generative AI has been a major point of contention over the last couple of years, including within game development. This year, games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and ARC Raiders, among others, have been criticised for utilising these tools for certain aspects of production.

What are your thoughts on this situation? Was Running with Scissors right to kill the game after the negative response from fans? Tell us in the comments section below.

[source gematsu.com, via x.com, x.com]