TLDR: The ENNIE Awards initially permitted submissions containing AI-generated content for the 2024-2025 season, sparking significant backlash from the tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG) community. Critics voiced concerns over the impact on human creativity and originality. In response to this widespread criticism, the volunteer-run organization announced a revised policy, effective for the 2025-2026 submission cycle, explicitly banning all products that include generative AI for visual, written, or edited content.
The prestigious ENNIE Awards, an annual fan-based celebration of excellence in tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPG), recently faced a wave of criticism following its decision to initially permit submissions that incorporated AI-generated content for the 2024-2025 awards season. This policy, which allowed AI-assisted works to be submitted, albeit with restrictions on certain categories, ignited a passionate debate within the TTRPG community.
Community members largely viewed the inclusion of generative AI as a threat to the core values of creativity and originality that define the industry. The prevailing sentiment was that AI-generated content, regardless of its form, detracted from a product rather than enhancing it. This stance led to significant backlash, with many expressing disappointment and distrust in the awards organization.
Initially, the ENNIE Awards had attempted to navigate the growing presence of AI technologies by allowing products with AI-generated art to be excluded from art categories while remaining eligible for writing categories if the text was entirely human-generated, and vice versa. The organization acknowledged the challenges in crafting a policy that balanced inclusivity, particularly for smaller publishers and self-published creators with limited budgets, with the need to uphold creative integrity. The policy also aimed to encourage honesty and transparency, requiring creators to self-report AI involvement.
However, in response to the overwhelming feedback and community sentiment, the ENNIE Awards announced a significant revision to its policy. Starting with the 2025-2026 submission cycle, the awards “will no longer accept any products containing generative AI or created with the assistance of Large Language Models or similar technologies for visual, written, or edited content.” This means that creators wishing to submit products must ensure that no AI-generated elements are included in their works.
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The organization, which operates as a small, volunteer-run entity, emphasized its commitment to celebrating human creativity and its ability to adapt quickly to community concerns. The revised policy will operate largely on an “Honor System,” as it is not feasible for the ENNIES submissions coordinator or judges to identify AI-generated content with 100% accuracy. Submitters will be required to confirm that their products are AI-free. Should it be determined after the fact that a submission violates this policy, current entries could be delisted, any subsequent awards revoked, and the creator potentially prohibited from submitting future products.
