Angry Character AI users demand platform keep Soft Launch alive

Character AI is killing off its older chat styles, and the community is furious. The platform announced it will retire a batch of fan favorite models by May 8 to focus entirely on its flagship PipSqueak and DeepSqueak engines.

According to the official announcement, styles like Meow, Nyan, and the massively popular Soft Launch will hit the legacy menu today before being wiped out next month. Four others, including Roar, were shut down immediately.

Character AI says the shift is necessary to support new features like an upcoming Lorebook and better memory retention. They claim focusing on a core experience is the only way to keep improving chats.

Of course, users aren’t taking this well. The Character AI subreddit is packed with threads discussing the upcoming change. People are explicitly threatening to cancel their paid subscriptions. Some say paying for the platform is no longer worth it if they are forced into a single, restrictive model.

The core problem is that the new models do not write the way users want. Many players rely on Soft Launch for grittier storylines.

One lengthy post explained that Soft Launch is one of the few styles that handles complex, dark, or romantic situations without triggering endless roadblocks. Without it, users feel stuck on a tight leash.

Moreover, the current flagship models aren’t getting the job done for longtime roleplayers. Players report that PipSqueak and DeepSqueak often try to force too many character details into a single response, making the dialogue feel stilted and fake.

Another highly upvoted complaint pointed out that developers are forcing a transition while the new engines are still fundamentally broken. Users claim the new models produce dramatic poetry and repetitive loops instead of natural conversation. They complain it is nearly impossible to get the AI to just talk normally.

So right now, players are essentially begging the company to keep Soft Launch as a permanent option. They argue there is no technical reason to cut down the model roster this drastically when the community clearly prefers the older tech.

Character AI hasn’t responded to the piling up complaints just yet. But if the backlash keeps growing, I suspect we might just see an official statement.

For now, the May 8 shutdown deadline remains in place.

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