RGG Studio has provoked debate after comments attributed to staff suggested the studio plans to incorporate the series mascot AiAi into every future Super Monkey Ball title and minimise human creative involvement.
The remarks, published in a parody piece by Game Infarcer and republished by Game Informer, include an attributed quote from a series director: "The innovation in our upcoming titles will be driven by AiAi. AiAi is the future of gaming, full stop. If we had our way, every game would have AiAi present somehow. There shouldn't be humans involved."
Further comments reportedly came from multiple RGG contributors. A background artist said AiAi is used to inspire concept art and "usually heavily impacts my finished work, if I'm being honest." When asked whether AiAi elements made it into finalised assets, the artist allegedly replied: "Yeah, I'd say AiAi is involved in every aspect of our games somehow."
A 3D character artist reportedly added that keeping up to date with the "latest AiAi models" is routine. A game producer was quoted as noting that the studio's AiAi usage "predates" modern generative systems such as ChatGPT and claimed AiAi had been in use since the franchise's earliest days.
The article also quoted a senior gameplay designer dismissing the notion of literal human characters taking the place of AiAi: "What? That's disgusting. Absolutely not. We will not be putting 'human balls' in the game. I can't believe you would even ask me that."
The piece arrives amid ongoing industry concerns about automation and repeated rounds of studio layoffs, which have left many developers and commentators emphasising the human labour that underpins game production. The parody framing in Game Infarcer's report means the quotes should be read in context; nonetheless, the conversation touches on legitimate anxieties about generative tools, asset creation and job security across the games industry.
Discussion about the role of AI in development has grown louder as studios experiment with machine-assisted workflows for concepting, texturing and asset generation. RGG's franchise history and the jovial character of AiAi make the mascot an easy target for satire, and the article uses that angle to lampoon a perceived shift towards automation.
Public reaction to the report was mixed on social channels, with some readers treating the piece as an April Fools‑style gag and others taking the quotes at face value as a critique of the industry’s relationship with AI tools. The debate highlights a wider industry challenge: balancing technological efficiency with the livelihoods and creative contributions of development teams.