Popular physics-based party game ‘Party Animals’ is getting review bombed and mass-uninstalled for holding an AI video contest.
Party Animals’ official social media accounts posted the news on May 12, dubbing the competition the ‘Golden Paw Awards.’
Submissions open from May 14 – August 31. The contest’s rules state that all videos must use Generative AI as a “core creative tool,” including but not limited to “AI-generated images, video, music, voiceovers, 3D assets, etc.”
Videos must be five minutes or less and be posted to most major social media platforms using specific hashtags. These ‘short films’ must be “positive content entered around the Party Animals IP,” with both solo and team submission accepted.
$75K total is up for grabs, with the winner of the Grand Prize earning $15K and a ‘Golden Paw Trophy.’ Other categories include Best Story, Best Creativity, Best Sound & Visuals, and Players’ Choice.
Party Animals’ AI video contest sparks backlash from players
The announcement was met with severe backlash almost instantly, and discontent among players has only grown in the day since then.
The game is now getting review-bombed on Steam, with recent reviews slamming it for “pushing generative AI.”
“If you’re gonna push AI into my life, you will regret it,” one review reads.
“I don’t typically post negative reviews, but I will now that they are supporting AI slop,” another says.
“Promoting AI slop got me feeling HOSTILE,” another reads.
Players are even uninstalling the game from their Steam libraries, with criticism pouring in from social media users slamming the Party Animals team for a decision they call “out of touch” with their playerbase.
Party Animals responds to AI contest backlash with fan vote
The game’s official X account published a statement addressing the situation on May 14, in which they apologized for “upsetting players” and not “[communicating] with everyone clearly enough” about the contest.
They explained that AI was a key fixture in this contest to lower the “barrier of creation” for participants who weren’t familiar with tools like “editing, modeling, or animation software.”
“We understand the concerns around AI content. We are not trying to dismiss handmade work or disrespect creators. To us, AI is just another tool. What we truly care about is the idea, the expression, and the final work,” they wrote.
Ultimately, the Party Animals team introduced a voting system to let players decide what happens next: Cancel the AI video contest completely, change it to a non-AI creation contest, or keep the AI category but add a “separate, handmade category.”
Players can vote via a poll pinned to the top of their X profile, but the team has encouraged those with additional feedback or alternate ideas to express their thoughts in comments on their initial post.
The Party Animals devs aren’t the only ones to come under fire for using AI; most notably, Arc Raiders faced significant pushback from players after it was revealed that generative AI was used in creating voice lines for its characters.
