PETA India’s First Immersive Role-Playing Experience ‘When They Came for Us’ Aims To End Speciesism
What if you had to convince an all-powerful alien species to let you survive within seven minutes?
That was the unsettling question posed at Comic-Con 2025 in Mumbai, where PETA India launched its most cutting-edge campaign yet: ‘When They Came For Us,’ a gamified immersive role-playing experience designed to give humans a taste of their own speciesism—the misguided belief that one species is more important than others.
In the immersive experience, users are seemingly abducted by terrifying aliens who see humans as inferior and exploitable and forced to plead for their freedom. It uses groundbreaking OpenAI technology to enable users to have spoken conversations with the aliens—who will respond differently depending on what the player says—ensuring that each experience is unique and creating an infinite number of possible outcomes.
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“When They Came for Us gives players a glimpse of what it’s like to be a rabbit trapped in a laboratory or a chicken imprisoned on a farm—at the mercy of a species that ignores their pain and terror. PETA India’s evolutionary virtual reality experience might make them rethink their support of these exploitative industries.” – PETA India Youth Outreach Coordinator Nazifa Anwar
“The combination of VR and AI technology creates an intense and immersive social simulation, encouraging players to think and reflect. By partnering with PETA, we aim to raise awareness about animal rights through this immersive experience. Using AI-supported characters for the first time enables us to achieve a depth of dialogue that conveys PETA’s message more effectively, fostering a deeper understanding and empathy towards animal welfare among participants.” – Alexander El-Meligi, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Demodern
When They Came for Us was developed with Germany-based studio Demodern and is available for free in the Meta Quest store to Meta Quest 2 and 3 users.
Inspired?
Under the woefully outdated Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, animal abusers may only be fined Rs. 10 for cruelty. Strengthening penalties under this Act is crucial to ensuring justice for animals and promoting a more compassionate society.
Demand Stronger Penalties for Animal AbusersIf you’d like to help PETA India get this new immersive experience to your college festival, please contact [email protected].
