Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch has responded to public allegations that the upcoming PC title Rideshare Stimulator utilized generative AI to replace human writers during development.
The controversy began when former lead writer Stella Sacco posted on BlueSky alleging she was removed from the Unigine-developed project and replaced with ChatGPT for text and passenger dialogue. Sacco further noted that the game's Steam page did not reflect the use of AI tools.
Saber Interactive's Stance on AI and Writing Staff
Saber Interactive roundly rejected the claims in statements provided to GamesRadar+. The publisher asserted that neither Saber nor developer Unigine replaced any writers with AI for Rideshare Stimulator or any other game, noting that Saber's internal writing staff has tripled since 2023 and the game's story was written entirely by human staff.
Karch expanded on these denials in an interview with This Week In Videogames, stating that Sacco was terminated for performance reasons. He maintained that the core script is human-written and defended the studio's use of AI tools as a way to improve the player experience in the upcoming lower-priced title rather than a measure to reduce team size or cut costs.
Steam AI Disclosure Status
While maintaining that the core narrative is human-authored, Karch confirmed that generative AI tools were used for specific experimental features in an unrelated mode added to the game. At the time of writing, the game still lacks an AI boilerplate on Valve's marketplace.
When asked about the missing label by IGN, Karch stated that the studio intends to update the Rideshare Stimulator Steam page with the appropriate feature disclosures once the development of these experimental concepts is fully finalized.