In some of the year's best Twitch content, Peak devs infiltrate streamer lobbies and possess the unholy plush BingBong: "Sentient BingBong you are so special to me"

Turns out the developers of Peak have been secretly dropping in on Twitch streamers games and possessing BingBong.

A ton of the viral co-op game Peak's success can definitely be put down to streamers. The game is super easy to pick up and play and lends itself to really funny moments thanks to how unpredictable your fellow players can be. And that's translated to a lot of success, with the developers even being extremely shocked that it outperformed its previous games. Well, turns out, the developers are also contributing to the game's streaming success, in secret.

In Peak, once your plane crashes to start a new run, specific items are always available in the wreckage. While there are useful items like a flare and backpack there for the taking, there's also the kinda janky-looking frog plushie BingBong. And it turns out, BingBong can talk, and some thought that the plush had pre-recorded lines, but soon found out that it is sentient.

Twitch streamer Bekyamon posted a clip of their stream on Twitter (via PC Gamer) where the group spoke to BingBong. They asked the plush "say Bing if you hate pride month, and Bong if you love pride month" to which it replied "Bong," so not only is BingBong alive, it's also an ally, which we love to see. In response to his alive status, one comment simply reads "Sentient BingBong you are so special to me" which is a perfect summation.

This led to players wondering how BingBong was able to answer in context so quickly. One player asked on the game's Steam forums if BingBong is using AI like the recent Fortnite Darth Vader AI, or if it's a developer talking to players. The developer profile Botten Hanna simply responded "We're not using any generative AI for the game," which isn't a direct confirmation, but feels like it's a confirmation nonetheless.

Meanwhile, streamer Peppachini got so freaked out by the talking companion that they launched it into the sea before realising it was a developer in there. Granted, If I crashlanded on an island and had a plush start speaking to me, I would definitely have the same reaction.

Peak devs update the game with an incredibly unfair new rule: "You no longer win if you die," ruining my chances of ever making it.