Hi everyone,
We’ve made the difficult decision to retire Popular Kids. The game relied on live AI services (voice, transcription, and character conversations) to function, and as of today those services have been shut down — meaning the game is no longer playable.
Player numbers never reached a level that made continued hosting and development costs sustainable, and we didn’t want the game to sit in a broken, half-working state. If you purchased Popular Kids, please request a full refund through Steam — you can do this even if you’re outside the normal refund window, by contacting Steam Support directly and referencing this announcement.
To everyone who played, wishlisted, or reached out for a key — thank you. Building an AI-driven, character-based storyline like this was a real experiment, and we appreciate everyone who gave it a shot.