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Saber Interactive CEO apologizes to former writer over AI controversy
Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch has issued an apology to former lead writer Stella Sacco following a controversy regarding the use of artificial intelligence in the development of the game Rideshare Simulator.
The dispute arose after Sacco publicly claimed she was replaced by AI and that the studio had not disclosed its use of the technology on its Steam store page. In response to the backlash, Saber Interactive has updated the game's Steam page to include a formal AI disclaimer.
The new disclosure clarifies that while the main campaign's story, characters, and dialogue are written entirely by humans, AI tools are utilized for voice generation, certain localization tasks, and an optional experimental Free Ride mode. The studio also noted that AI-generated music stations will be clearly labeled in-game. Karch defended the use of AI as a tool to shape gamer experiences, noting that the integration of these features actually increased production costs.
Entities
Matt Karch · Rideshare Simulator · Saber Interactive · Steam · Stella Sacco
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 3 SOURCES] Stella Sacco claimed she was replaced by AI and that the studio failed to disclose AI use on Steam. www.it-boltwise.de · www.eurogamer.net · www.gram.pl
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Matt Karch stated that incorporating AI features resulted in higher costs than omitting them. www.eurogamer.net
- [○ 1 SOURCE] AI tools are used for voice generation and some localization in the game. www.eurogamer.net
- [● 2 SOURCES] Matt Karch apologized to Stella Sacco for his public comments. www.it-boltwise.de · www.gram.pl
- [● 3 SOURCES] Saber Interactive added an AI disclaimer to the Steam page for Rideshare Simulator. www.it-boltwise.de · www.eurogamer.net · www.gram.pl
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The main campaign's story, characters, and dialogue in Rideshare Simulator are written entirely by humans. www.eurogamer.net