MIFA 2026: TEAMTO’S MARCO BALSAMO ON TETRIS, AI AND HUMAN-MADE ANIMATION
- Jun 25
- 2 min read
The studio's President and CEO explained how "Tetris: World Builders" will be produced in-house and why he is betting on human-made storytelling even as AI reshapes the industry.
Friday, June 26, 2026 by Fernando Calviño
Fresh off unveiling “Tetris: World Builders” with The Tetris Company at MIFA 2026, TeamTO President and CEO Marco Balsamo sat down with Señal News to talk about how the series will be made, and why, as artificial intelligence reshapes the business, he is wagering on storytelling made by human hands.
The 52 x 11’ CG-animated series for children aged six and up, the first to bring human child characters into the Tetris universe, is being produced in-house at TeamTO, with Balsamo and COO Tara Sibel Demren producing and Chuck Williams, of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” adaptations, as executive producer. Balsamo said the story is in early development, with the team aiming to have a package ready in the coming months before taking it to networks.
On the subject running through the festival’s business conversations, AI, Balsamo was direct. Artificial intelligence is arriving regardless, he said, with major streamers already adopting it. TeamTO’s answer is to stay talent-focused and artist-centric: applying AI on the financial and logistical side, from scheduling and planning to budgeting, while keeping the art and the creativity human-made. “We’re still very proud of our 100% human-made content,” he said.
He singled out France as one of the few countries that genuinely protects its artists in the face of AI. Even so, he noted, the technology is already visible at the highest levels of filmmaking. “You’ve seen people like Martin Scorsese doing storyboards with AI,” he said. Coexistence is inevitable, Balsamo argued, but lawmakers and regulation will be essential to keep it in balance. “We have to adapt. I think that’s the way the world works.” That conviction, he said, rests on the audience. AI-driven vertical content will find viewers, Balsamo acknowledged, but fans have already pushed back on projects revealed to be AI-generated, evidence, in his view, of real power in the customer, and a reason to treat audiences with respect.
He also challenged the notion that younger viewers have abandoned long-form. Kids still want to watch long-form stories, he said, and millennials and Gen Z are returning to theatres. He pointed to creator-led films such as A24’s "Backrooms," born on YouTube, as proof that well-made work cuts through, and as a signal of something he expects to translate into animation.
For Balsamo, “Tetris: World Builders” is a chance to put that thinking into practice: a globally recognised IP, built around STEAM-based problem-solving and human characters, produced by a team determined to keep the craft in human hands. It is, fittingly, an extension of the philosophy he sees at the heart of the game itself, working with the pieces you’re given and discovering how they come together.
