Popular physics-based party game \u2018Party Animals\u2019 is getting review bombed and mass-uninstalled for holding an AI video contest.<\/p>\n
Party Animals\u2019 official social media accounts posted the news on May 12, dubbing the competition the \u2018Golden Paw Awards.\u2019<\/p>\n
Submissions open from May 14 \u2013 August 31. The contest\u2019s rules<\/a> state that all videos must use Generative AI<\/a> as a \u201ccore creative tool,\u201d including but not limited to \u201cAI-generated images, video, music, voiceovers, 3D assets, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n Videos must be five minutes or less and be posted to most major social media platforms using specific hashtags. These \u2018short films\u2019 must be \u201cpositive content entered around the Party Animals IP,\u201d with both solo and team submission accepted.<\/p>\n Article continues after ad<\/p>\n $75K total is up for grabs, with the winner of the Grand Prize earning $15K and a \u2018Golden Paw Trophy.\u2019 Other categories include Best Story, Best Creativity, Best Sound & Visuals, and Players\u2019 Choice.<\/p>\n Party Animals AI Video Contest is about to begin!<\/p>\n What wild ideas have you had for Party Animals? Join the “Golden Paw Awards” now \u2014 Party Animals 1st AI Video Contest!<\/p>\n A short film you’ve been dreaming of making, a story that breaks all the rules, a character tribute to your\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/kWgY4zvQT0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Party Animals (@party_animals) May 13, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Party Animals\u2019 AI video contest sparks backlash from players<\/p>\n The announcement was met with severe backlash almost instantly, and discontent among players has only grown in the day since then.<\/p>\n Article continues after ad<\/p>\n The game is now getting review-bombed on Steam<\/a>, with recent reviews slamming it for \u201cpushing generative AI.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re gonna push AI into my life, you will regret it,\u201d one review reads.<\/p>\n Article continues after ad<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t typically post negative reviews, but I will now that they are supporting AI slop,\u201d another says.<\/p>\n \u201cPromoting AI slop got me feeling HOSTILE,\u201d another reads.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cout of touch\u201d with their playerbase.<\/p>\n Party Animals responds to AI contest backlash with fan vote<\/p>\n The game\u2019s official X account published a statement addressing the situation on May 14, in which they apologized for \u201cupsetting players\u201d and not \u201c[communicating] with everyone clearly enough\u201d about the contest.<\/p>\n Article continues after ad<\/p>\n They explained that AI was a key fixture in this contest to lower the \u201cbarrier of creation\u201d for participants who weren\u2019t familiar with tools like \u201cediting, modeling, or animation software.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues after ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n Hi everyone. We\u2019d like to address the recent discussion around the AI video contest, and first of all, we\u2019re sorry for upsetting players with this event. We\u2019re also sorry that we didn\u2019t communicate with everyone clearly enough before the event started.<\/p>\n Our original goal was to\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Party Animals (@party_animals) May 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n 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 \u201cseparate, handmade category.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues after ad<\/p>\n Players can vote via a poll<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n The Party Animals devs aren\u2019t the only ones to come under fire for using AI; most notably, Arc Raiders<\/a> faced significant pushback from players after it was revealed that generative AI was used<\/a> in creating voice lines for its characters.<\/p>\n Article continues after ad<\/p>\n Article continues after ad<\/p>\n