Saber Interactive CCO Addresses AI Controversy and Denies Replacing Writers

Saber Interactive chief creative officer Tim Willits has responded to recent public accusations that the company replaced a writer with artificial intelligence. The controversy began in August when Stella Sacco stated she served as the lead writer on the upcoming game Rideshare Stimulator before being replaced by ChatGPT midway through development. Saber CEO Matthew Karch issued a harsh public response questioning Sacco's involvement and stating she was terminated for various reasons. Sacco subsequently defended her claims, leading to further public discussion.

Speaking at Gamescom, Willits addressed the situation and clarified the company's stance on artificial intelligence tools. Willits described Karch's remarks as sarcasm, emphasizing that the studio has never replaced any staff member with artificial intelligence. According to Willits, the company does not use generative artificial intelligence for production pipelines involving code, environments, or textures in titles like Space Marine, Hellraiser, or Stuntman.

Willits noted that Saber is experimenting with artificial intelligence for specific features in Rideshare Stimulator. The Steam page disclosure for the game outlines that the main campaign story, characters, and dialogue are created by human writers, while artificial intelligence tools are utilized for voice generation and select localization. The optional Free Ride mode incorporates artificial intelligence-generated passenger missions and localized dialogue, alongside radio stations featuring both human-made and artificial intelligence-generated music.

Willits compared the current industry uncertainty surrounding artificial intelligence to past technological transitions throughout history. He stated that the studio is testing where the technology might be effective and useful while noting that future developers will likely find clever integration methods. Willits added that he expects to see larger games focusing on artificial intelligence at upcoming industry events as developers continue to evaluate public reception and practical use cases.