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How Playboy Forced Us to Change the Name of Our Magazine

By Naomi Marie | 25.07.2025

Source & logo: Playboy

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The Birth of Playborg

It was March 2024. The AI space was on fire, and no, not just because of chatbots. We had just launched Playborg, a premium digital magazine featuring ultra realistic, adult virtual models, similar to Playboy for the synthetic generation. It was bold, a little taboo, and visually amazing. Our tagline practically wrote itself.

The response? Electric. People got it immediately. The name Playborg had teeth. Edgy, provocative, memorable. Every click felt like we were onto something bigger.

Then July 9 happened.

I remember the email like a punch. A “cease and desist” from Playboy’s lawyers, asserting we were infringing on their trademark. It was sharp, and very clear: stop using “Playborg” or face legal action.

At first, I laughed. We all laughed, because it was absurd. Playborg wasn’t Playboy. We were AI-generated art. We didn’t match their branding, their models, or even their tone. But let’s be real, the name did play in the same conceptual space. And they weren’t about to let that slide.

We tried. Oh, did we try.

We emailed. Called. Offered to collaborate. Proposed a licensing deal. Even floated selling them the domain. For a minute, I thought maybe they’d see the value, a digital playground with zero logistics and infinite scalability. They didn’t bite. And we didn’t have the legal firepower (or the wallet) to fight back, obviously.

So, on August 3, 2024, Playborg died and Cybeauty was born.

The Pain (and Power) of Letting Go

Let me be brutally honest: rebranding felt like identity theft. That name was ours. We built it from scratch, obsessed over it, stamped it on everything. Changing it felt like I was cutting off a limb.

But here’s what no one tells you: it’s not the name that makes the brand. It’s what you build behind it.

Cybeauty is leaner, sharper, and more focused. The rebrand forced us to clean house. We rethought the product experience. We rebuilt how we talked to our audience. And ironically, some of the peps loved the drama: a David vs. Goliath story in the middle of the AI porn gold rush.

And you know what? The new name hits differently. It’s got range. It’s sci-fi but chic. Sexual but sleek. Cybeauty is more like a category.

What I'd Tell Any Founder

If you’re building something right now, especially something provocative, here’s what I’d share from the fire:

1. Don’t get too attached to your name.
Your brand is bigger than the name. If your audience resonates with your why, they’ll follow you anywhere.

2. Know the trademarks before you ship.
We didn’t check the marks thoroughly. I was romantic about the name. I paid the price.

3. Try the partnership pitch, but know when to walk.
We reached out. We tried everything. But at some point, defending a brand name becomes a distraction. Pick your battles. Energy is your real currency.

4. Rebranding isn’t a failure, it’s a forced evolution.
The best thing that ever happened to us was getting that letter. It forced us to stop coasting on a clever pun and start building something sustainable.

Cybeauty is thriving now. The name feels ours. Clean. Confident. Future-proof.

Would I still launch with the name Playborg if I could rewind time? Probably. But I’d also trademark it immediately, prepare for heat, and have a backup plan in the wings.

Building something new in a space no one quite understands yet? You’re going to piss someone off eventually. Might as well do it with style.