Steam the game Postage: Bullet Paradise A fan accused of using AI art was canceled within a day. While the developer initially denied the allegations, the decision to shut down the Steam-only title came from the publisher.
The post office The franchise is owned by Running With Scissors (RWS), a company based in Tucson, Arizona. Since the series began in 1997, RWS has developed all but two entries: Postal 3 (2011), co-developed with Trashmasters, and Postal: Brain damaged (2022), developed by Hyperstrange and CreativeForge Games. On December 3, RWS announced a third externally developed project, Postage: Bullet ParadiseDescribed as a time-travel shooter created by indie studio Gunswarm Games.
Postal: Bullet Paradise Canceled After Poor Reveal Reception
A day later, RWS announced it was canceling it Postage: Bullet Paradise. The publisher cited overwhelmingly negative feedback from the online community as the reason for its decision, acknowledging widespread social media allegations that the project used AI-generated art. “Our trust in the development team has been broken, so we've killed the project,” RWS said in a prepared statement, though without explicitly confirming fan suspicions of some of its origins. Postage: Bullet Paradiseproperty of
Post: Bullet Paradise publisher issues temporary apology to fans
In a separate tweet, RWS issued a temporary apology to “anyone who felt offended by the heat of the moment,” in addition to the people who sent the death threats. Some fans criticized the phrase, arguing that the “heat of the moment” diminishes instances in which company representatives allegedly insulted users on the RWS Discord server — and, in one case, used a slur — while responding to AI-related allegations in 24 hours. Postage: Bullet Paradise Announcing and canceling. “They can still be forgiven but those who allowed blatant insults need to roll immediately,” one vocal fan wrote on Twitter.
Post: Bullet Paradise dev denies AI art accusations, then changes his mind
Gunswarm Games initially denied the AI art allegations on December 5, but simultaneously announced its decision to close its studio in response to them. A day later, the company issued another statement that included an apology for the “emotional and defensive” response, saying it was a mistake because the initial wave of allegations came as a shock. However, after conducting an internal review, the studio had a change of heart, admitting that “promo art appears to contain or be influenced by AI-generated content. [sic].” Gunswarm emphasized that the in-game assets were all created by “real artists,” saying that its internal review only identified problems with the promotional visuals, though without elaborating.
A Dec. 6 statement from the company still reiterated its intention to close the studio. However, it also includes a surprising commitment to “replace all controversial promo art in our projects with pieces created entirely by human artists.” This seems to be a reaction from social media users that some of Gunswarm's promo banners show AI-generated cues used for its other games, such as a character wielding a sword with a missing finger. In a statement to Polygon, Gunswarm said its closing will affect a total of nine people, including full-time developers and contractors.
While running with scissors is no stranger to controversy, the backlash against it is post office Games usually come from the general public rather than from its own fan base. Although the publisher said Postage: Bullet Paradise Not moving forward, several plans for the franchise are currently in motion, with the first set to be officially announced in 2026.
Source: Polygon
