Former Xbox exclusive apologizes for AI competition controversy

Party animals studio Recreate Games apologized for hosting a generative AI video competition and asked players for input on the future of the competition. As the name suggests, Party animals is a party game that was first released as an Xbox exclusive in 2023 and has seen moderate success as a family-friendly online brawler over the years. Players choose from a list of difficult-to-control and high-heavy animals and try to eliminate the competition before they go down like poultry.

On May 13, 2026, Recreate Games announced that they will be holding an AI Video Contest with a total prize pool of $75,000 in cash. The studio called the competition its first to use generative artificial intelligence and asked people to use the software to produce videos no longer than five minutes. The post promotes the use of generative tools: “In the past, ideas like these could only exist in your head. Now, with artificial intelligence, they finally have a chance to become reality.” Party animals players immediately headed to the comments section to express their disapproval of the contest devaluing human effort and artistry. This type of discussion is common among game developers and players who defend themselves against AI.

Party Animals apologizes for the AI Contest

The Party animals the studio took to Twitter to address what it describes as the controversy surrounding the AI competition. Recreate Games used the post to apologize for upsetting fans of its game and for not clearly communicating with players before the contest began. The post claims that the studio wanted to base the competition on AI to “lower the barrier to creation,” suggesting that generative AI would allow people who don't know how to edit, model, or animate to create videos. He goes on to compare AI to facilitation tools, saying the team “wasn't trying to dismiss manual labor or disrespect the creator.”

Recreate Games then created a poll on the social media platform asking fans how or if the studio should move forward with the competition. Popular social game makers offered to cancel the AI video contest, change it to a non-AI contest, or keep the AI contest, but also add a category for human art. The poll ended with approximately 58% of the nearly 16,000 votes asking for the contest to be cancelled. However, comments were mixed, with many arguing that they could not support generative AI in any form, and others echoing statements such as Sony's CEO that AI is a powerful creative tool.

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It's certainly not the first time a game studio has used or promoted generative AI, which has sparked controversy among its fans. The fans were the last to speak NTE: Neverness to Everness using artificial intelligence, and the studio has admitted to using generative artificial intelligence software to create backgrounds and environmental assets. Hotta Studio said it would replace images and video that players correctly identified as being created by generative AI, and promised that the team supports human creativity.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

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Despite how new generative AI tools are in the tech space, their use in game development has been controversial for several years. Even big publishers like Activision have admitted to using generative artificial intelligence Call of Dutydespite the huge number of artists and creatives employed in its studios. AI tools are constantly changing, and while it's still relatively easy for humans to tell the difference between generated images and human art, it's likely to become more difficult to tell the difference in the future. It's not unusual for studios to refuse to disclose their use of AI until they receive backlash for doing so. Companies are expected to continue using these software tools.