New Post game developer closes studio after game announced, then canceled amid Gen AI accusations

The studio behind the Postal series has just announced that it will be releasing a new Postal game, developed by Goonswarm Games. Unfortunately, it recently announced that it would be canceling the game amid allegations that Goonswarm used generative artificial intelligence in its development. Now, Goonswarm is closing.

The game, called Postal: Bullet Paradise, was announced earlier Wednesday with a trailer and a press release. It claims to be a “timeline-hopping, dystopian bullet paradise first-person shooter” set in the Postal Universe, where players can choose from 11 unlockable Postal Guys from different timelines and then shoot people.

However, soon after the trailer debuted, Postal fans began pointing out that the game had many of the hallmarks of assets made using generative artificial intelligence. While we embedded the trailer in this article for your viewing pleasure, our access to the video files has been severed and the official version has been removed from YouTube. you can It's still available to watch via the Steam page here and use your own judgment.

Check out the Postal subreddit and you can see some of the feedback. Fans pointed out that the pixel sprite's mouth “makes no sense” and that elements like shadows and pixel placement are somehow off. They also note that Goonswarm has almost certainly used generative AI in its games before (keep an eye on this trailer There are many very clear indicators), so it's not impossible that it will do so again.

When the accusations first began to spread, both Goonswarm and Running With Scissors denied using generative AI. as goonswarm told PCGamesN in a statement:

Neither the trailer nor the game uses generative artificial intelligence. All assets are created by our human artists using standard tools. We've shared layered PSDs, work-in-progress files, and other materials to confirm this. Any errors or rough spots in these documents could be misinterpreted as “evidence” of artificial intelligence, but they simply reflect the normal human art-making process.

At the same time, while running with scissors Initial promise of further investigationstudio co-owner Mike Jeret Further angering Post viewers Not only does it vehemently deny the presence of generative AI in the game, it also uses pretty strong language against its accusers, calling them “ignorant bastards” and telling anyone who thinks the game uses generative AI to “please forgive our discord.”

But today, publishers are finally taking a clear stance. Running With Scissors announced it was canceling the game entirely, saying audience feedback was “extremely damaging to our brand and company reputation” and that there was no longer trust in the development team.

Here is the full statement from Running with Scissors:

After the announcement of Post: Bullet Paradise (Running with Scissors), which we were planning to publish but not developing, we were overwhelmed by the negative response from the associated Post community. Their strong feedback was that elements of the game were likely AI-generated and therefore causing significant damage to our brand and company reputation.

We have always been and will always be transparent with the community. Our trust in the development team was broken; therefore, we terminated the project. We have a lot of good things coming (some you know, some you don’t).

Since Scissor Run was founded in 1996, we have always said that our fans are part of the team. Our priority is always doing the right thing for the millions of people who support the Postal Service. We're excited for the opportunity to make the game we want to play and will continue to focus on new projects and updates for 2026 and beyond. We can't wait to share more!

Fan feedback seems to be generally positive, Many people suggest They're excited about the game's premise and hope it can be passed on to other developers. Some still want Jarrett to apologize for his comments to the community, but that hasn't materialized yet.

But one group of people is not happy, and that's Goonswarm. In a statement posted on Twitter, the studio announced that it will Closed due to game cancellation. Here is their full statement:

Our project, and everything we had built over six years at PSAT, was canceled in just a few days.

Our studio has been falsely accused of using AI-generated art in our games, and every attempt to clarify our work only escalates the situation. Over the past few hours we have received a large number of threats, insults and ridicule, which has forced us to make a very difficult decision.

We are deeply sorry to the artists who put their heart and soul into supporting our studio, only to be faced with false accusations from artificial intelligence. It's rare to put so much effort into a game only to accidentally end up in an AI war.

We have decided to close the studio and end all future activities.

Thank you for staying with us. Stay strong and play the game.

This isn't the first time The Postal Game has been embroiled in controversy, as The Postal Game is essentially about different people committing mass shootings. The last mainline game, Postal 4: NoRegerts, will be released in 2022 Our rare 2/10. Our reviewer said: “The comedy is lazy and awkward, the combat is messy and painfully unsatisfying, and it runs so poorly on high-end hardware that it's nearly impossible to enjoy even for those who just want some campy shock humor.” Running With Scissors has also released several spin-offs in recent years, such as 2022's Postal: Brain Damage from Creative Forge Games and 2023's April Fool's Day joke POOSTALL Royale.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter at IGN. Have a story tip? Send it to [email protected].