Umamusume developer Cygames bullied into apology by outraged horse girl enthusiasts after announcing AI subsidiary: 'We sincerely apologize for the concern we've caused'

Umamusume developer and global leader in anime horse girl media production Cygames announced late last week that it had formed Cygames AI Studio, an AI-centric subsidiary that a company blog post says "will build a unique creative cycle that goes beyond simply improving efficiency to expand creators' creativity."

Judging from the overwhelming contempt visible in the replies to the company's announcement on X, approximately nobody enjoyed hearing this news. Today, after six days of cyberbullying from an internet's worth of horse girl enthusiasts, Cygames released an apology. Sort of. If we're counting "I'm sorry you're upset" as an apology.

"Over the past few days, we've received numerous comments expressing anger and disappointment from many of you," Cygames said. "This was because we released a simplified announcement in Japanese concerning the founding of Cygames AI Studio, Inc., without addressing any of the current problems and social debates surrounding generative AI. We sincerely apologize for the concern we've caused."

While it specified that its products don't use art created by generative AI and that it holds "in the highest regard those who love games, as well as the dignity, passion, and heart of the creators and artists who act as the architects of gaming culture," Cygames said that it "won't implement generative AI into our products without prior notice."

Unsurprisingly, promising to provide a warning before you still do the thing your fans are upset about isn't a commitment that inspires much confidence—particularly when, as users quickly noticed, the Cygames career site currently lists openings for generative AI-related engineer and artist positions.

The news of Cygames' AI pivot isn't entirely surprising, as its parent company CyberAgent has been leaning into an AI-heavy strategy in recent years. CyberAgent has maintained an "AI Lab" R&D division since 2016, and in 2023 the company announced the formation of yet another AI-focused division working on implementing generative AI in animation and game development.

While AI usage has been spreading throughout the games industry, Japanese developers have seemed less shy in declaring their interest in the technology, with major publishers like Square Enix openly committing to generative AI strategies and over 50% of Japanese game companies responding in a 2025 survey that they're using AI in game development.