Developer Running With Scissors announced a new entry in its provocative first-person shooter franchise Postal on Wednesday, only to cancel it by Thursday. Now, the studio behind that game says it’s shutting down amid backlash and threats against its developers.
Running With Scissors revealed Postal: Bullet Paradise on Wednesday, describing the game as a “timeline-hopping dystopian bullet heaven first-person shooter with POSTAL’s signature darkly humorous personality.” Developer Goonswarm Games was behind the title, which appears to draw inspiration from games like Vampire Survivors. Players would have taken on the role of various Postal Dudes, mowing down (and urinating on) hordes of cultists and protestors in an attempt to rid the world of “forced positivity, constant surveillance, obnoxiously bright lights, and social credit scores.”
Postal: Bullet Paradise was pegged for a Q3 2026 release on Steam, with versions for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 planned.
But backlash to Postal: Bullet Paradise was swift, with Postal fans accusing Goonswarm Games and Running With Scissors of using generative AI artwork in the game’s creation. And while Running With Scissors co-owner Mike Jaret vigorously fought back against claims that Bullet Paradise was using AI-generated assets, Running With Scissors’ owners seemingly had a change of heart in recent days. In a statement posted to the Running With Scissors X account, the studio said it had “killed the project” after being “overwhelmed with negative responses from our concerned POSTAL Community” regarding Bullet Paradise.
“Our trust in the development team is broken,” Running With Scissors said.
While the official announcement for Postal: Bullet Paradise is still live on the RWS website, the reveal trailer for the game has been set to private on YouTube, and its Steam page now includes the message “Notice: POSTAL: Bullet Paradise is no longer available on the Steam store.” The game cannot be found via Steam’s search function.
Prior to the game’s apparent cancellation, Jaret had defended Goonswarm Games’ work and Running With Scissors’ reputation on the Postal Discord. In the wake of the game’s reveal, Jaret said that “ignorant assholes continue to accuse of using AI” and warned members of the Postal community that “if you still think that key art was made with AI, you can just excuse yourself from our Discord.”
On Friday, Goonswarm Games released a statement regarding Postal: Bullet Paradise‘s cancellation, saying that it had been falsely accused of using generative AI and that the studio was shutting down as a result of the controversy.
“Our studio was mistakenly accused of using AI-generated art in our games, and every attempt to clarify our work only escalated the situation,” reads a statement from Goonswarm Games. “In the last few hours, we’ve received a large number of threats, insults, and mockery, which pushed us toward a very difficult decision.
“We’re truly sorry for the artist who put their soul into this and supported our studio, only to face false AI accusations. It’s tough to pour so much energy into a game and end up caught in the middle of an AI war by accident.”
Reached for comment, Goonswarm Games CEO Artem Korovkin told gamexplore that the studio’s closure will impact nine developers and contractors. Asked whether the developer plans to release Bullet Paradise without the Postal name, Korovkin said, “we still own source code, but we don’t think continue developing this project is realistic.”
gamexplore has reached out to Jaret for comment, and for clarification on what transpired between Running With Scissors and Goonswarm Games. This story will be updated when Jaret responds.
The Postal franchise has been running since 1997, when Running With Scissors released the original off-color shooter Postal for Mac and Windows PC. Multiple sequels and spinoffs have followed, including the most recent mainline entry in the franchise, 2022’s Postal 4: No Regerts, and throwback “boomer shooter” Postal: Brain Damaged. A remake of the second game in the franchise is in development under the name Postal 2 Redux.
Take a look at the trailer for Postal: Bullet Paradise below, courtesy of Gamers Prey.
