Artificially Intelligent Role Playing Game: An AIRPG, AI RPG, or AI-RPG Naming A Genre
We use the term AIRPG a lot on the site, our domain/site name AIRPGHUB is built on this term and for us it is a part of our day-to-day conversations. AIRPG is our new genre of role playing game. And we are excited to share it with you!
When introducing new people to the site and the genre, we have had several people ask why spell it as AIRPG and how do you pronounce it?
So we want to share a bit more on where the name AIRPG came from and why it is AIRPG instead of AI RPG or AI-RPG. While all of these options (AI RPG, AI RPGs, AI-RPG,AI-RPGs, A.I.R.P.G., A.I.R.P.G.s, AIRPG, AIRPGs, and probably a few more) are all valid and mean the same thing, we were inspired and drew on existing conventions on how to describe Role Playing Games (RPGs) genres. Here's a quick look at some of the well-known RPG subgenres that inspired us:
🧩 Common RPG Subgenres and Naming Patterns
| Acronym | Full Name | Notes & Examples |
|---|---|---|
| TTRPG | Tabletop Role-Playing Game | Pen-and-paper RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons or Call of Cthulhu |
| LARP / LARPG | Live-Action Role-Playing Game | Players physically act out their characters — From MIT Assassins' guild to foam swords |
| CRPG | Computer Role-Playing Game | RPGs designed for PCs and Consoles—think Baldur's Gate, Disco Elysium, Divinity: Original Sin II |
| MMORPG | Massively Multiplayer Online RPG | Online worlds with thousands of players: World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV |
| JRPG | Japanese Role-Playing Game | Stylized narrative-heavy RPGs from Japan: Final Fantasy, Persona, Dragon Quest |
| WRPG | Western Role-Playing Game | Often more open-world and choice-driven: The Witcher, Skyrim, Mass Effect |
| ARPG | Action Role-Playing Game | Emphasizes real-time combat: Diablo, Path of Exile, Hades |
| SRPG | Strategy Role-Playing Game | Tactical decision-making plus character development: Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics |
| TRPG | Tactical Role-Playing Game | Similar to SRPG; often used interchangeably—sometimes more grid-based or turn-focused |
| DRPG | Dungeon Role-Playing Game | Focused on dungeon crawling and resource management: Etrian Odyssey, Wizardry |
👾 Enter the AIRPG Genre
Given this time honored tradition, we naturally saw AIRPG as the next logical step in the pattern to represent Artificially Intelligent Role Playing Games.
| Acronym | Full Name | Notes & Examples |
|---|---|---|
| AIRPG | Artificially Intelligent Role-Playing Game | AI-driven storytelling, dynamic characters, and personalized world creation—powered by improvisational intelligence |
So how do we recommend you pronounce AIRPG and AIRPGHUB? Well, you can break it down into the subparts: "AI" and "RPG" (so, "AI-RPG"), and for the second, "AI," "RPG," "HUB" ("AI-RPG-HUB").
What makes AIRPGs magical? Why do we need a new genre?
While existing RPGs are amazing — we play them and love them too — with the exception of TTRPGs and LARPs, they are limited in what you can do. All other RPGs are capped by a story/dialogue tree, they have pre-written characters, dialogue, and outcomes. And for all the narrative freedom of TTRPGs and LARPs, they are limited to having a group of players, and lack the accessibility and availability of a digital/computer powered game. AIRPGs introduce something that could never have existed before a digital/computer game with the narrative freedom of TTRPGs or LARPs, they can be played solo or in groups and offer new kinds of experiences and interactions otherwise impossible to create and never before seen.
This is why we need a new genre, and where the AI magic comes in to create the AIRPG!
For Posterity: Avoiding a JIF or GIF Debate
And if you're the kind of person who corrects people's pronunciation of 'GIF,' here's the full phonetic breakdown
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AIRPG: /ˌeɪ.aɪ.ˌɑr.piːˈdʒiː/
(AY-EYE RPG: "ay eye ar pee gee" — where "AI" is pronounced as the initials "A-I")
-
AIRPGHUB: /ˌeɪ.aɪ.ˌɑr.piːˈdʒiː.hʌb/
(AY-EYE RPG HUB: "ay eye ar pee gee hub" — "AI" as in artificial intelligence, followed by "RPG" as in role-playing game, then "hub")
Note: It's not "air-pee-gee" as one word; instead, "AI" should be spoken as the two separate letters ("A" "I"), followed by "RPG" (the three-letter initialism), and then "hub."
TLDR: Say it like: "A-I R-P-G" or "A-I R-P-G hub"
Fun Fact: Much to our surprise, we have found many people pronouncing it as "air-pee-gee", and this has often resulted in the question are you related or alluding to AirBnB? We are not related to AirBnB, nor are/were we trying to allude to them.
