Party Animals studio sparks fury with ‘AI video contest,’ apologizes, then makes things even worse by asking if it should hold the contest anyway

Party Animals developer Recreate Games has apologized for an “AI video contest” it announced earlier this week that encouraged players to submit short films created with generative AI tools. It’s not cancelling the contest, though—instead, it’s opened a poll asking followers what it should do.

Recreate first announced the contest on May 13, telling followers that ideas that previously “could only exist in your head” can now “become reality” thanks to the power of AI. Submissions would be open until August 31, and winners would be eligible for “a share” of a $75,000 prize pool.

The reaction was undoubtedly not what the studio was expecting. The replies to the post on X were highly negative—I don’t want to say “universally” negative because I may have missed one, but I’ve scrolled way down through the thread and the hostility is not easing up.

Naturally, there was the traditional Bombing of the Reviews on Steam.

So now, the climbdown. “Our original goal was to lower the barrier to creation,” Recreate wrote in today’s post. “In past contests, we saw players with great ideas and scripts who couldn’t fully bring them to life because they weren’t familiar with tools like editing, modeling, or animation software. We hoped AI could be a more accessible tool that lets more people take part.

“That said, 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.”

Rather than changing or ending the contest, though, the studio put up a poll with three options: Cancel the AI video contest, change it to a non-AI contest, or keep it as it is but add a separate “handmade category.”

And that has somehow made things even worse: Some replies say people without video creation skills maybe shouldn’t expect to place well in a contest that’s ostensibly about video creation skills, while others say if Recreate Games was serious about lowering the barrier to entry it would make models, textures, assets, and tutorials available to everyone.

Many others complain that saying “AI is just another tool” is damning in its own right, as it suggests Recreate is already using it internally—an allegation the studio has faced previously.

AI is indeed a tool that many developers take advantage of in one way or another, and it’s sometimes unfairly demonized by way of vague, over-broad definitions. But the blowback against Recreate is especially harsh because this contest, and by extension the studio’s statement, is based specifically on generative AI, which is a red line for most gamers and game makers.

Responses to the poll at this point, as you might expect, lean heavily against AI: 58% of the more than 5,700 respondents thus far say the contest should be cancelled outright, while 35% believe it should be changed to non-AI; only 8% think the AI contest should continue. The poll is set to run for a couple more days but frankly, I think we can safely call it right here.

I’ve reached out to Recreate Games for comment and will update if I receive a reply.