Saber CEO Apologizes After Rideshare AI Dispute
On August 15, Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch apologized to former Rideshare "Stimulator" lead writer Stella Sacco after a public dispute over ChatGPT and the game's development. Saber denied replacing writers with AI and said the main story was written by people, while an experimental free-ride mode uses AI. Kotaku reported that the game's Steam page was later updated with a generative AI disclosure.
Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch apologized to former Rideshare "Stimulator" lead writer Stella Sacco after a public dispute over whether generative AI replaced her work on the upcoming driving game. Sacco wrote on August 15 that Karch had sent her a private email apologizing "unreservedly for the awful way he spoke about me in the press," according to Kotaku.
The dispute began after Sacco, a former lead writer on the project, posted that Saber had replaced her with ChatGPT midway through development and that passenger voices were AI-generated. Game File reports that Sacco's allegation referred to events in late 2023, while the game was being developed by Unigine and published by Saber.
Saber disputed the replacement allegation in statements provided to PC Gamer, IGN, and The Verge. The company said that neither Saber nor Unigine had replaced writers with AI on Rideshare "Stimulator" or other games, that Saber's writing staff had tripled since 2023, and that the game's story was written entirely by people.
AI use in the free-ride mode
Saber also confirmed that Rideshare "Stimulator" uses AI in an experimental free-ride mode. In the statement reported by PC Gamer and IGN, the company said the mode incorporates AI because it has an infinite number of potential passengers. The company described the feature as distinct from the main story and said it uses AI tools to improve or enhance gameplay experiences and NPC behavior.
The distinction matters because the reported implementation is not simply a conventional scripted-dialogue pipeline. A mode designed around an effectively unbounded population of riders requires runtime or procedurally generated interactions, which introduces different production questions around prompt design, output controls, voice generation, moderation, consistency, and quality assurance.
Early reporting also noted that the game's Steam page did not disclose generative AI use. Kotaku subsequently reported that the page was updated with a disclosure covering AI use in voiceovers, music, and non-campaign mission dialogue. Karch had previously indicated that Saber intended to add a Steam disclaimer after finalizing the feature set, according to Kotaku.
Disputed employment account and public fallout
The available reporting does not resolve Sacco's account of her departure against Saber's categorical denial. Sacco maintained that she had been truthful in her public statements. Saber, meanwhile, maintained that it had not replaced any writer with AI.
The controversy widened after Karch made personal comments about Sacco in remarks reported by 80 Level and Kotaku. Among them, Karch wrote that he "would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI." Sacco's August 15 post characterized Karch's later email as an apology for those remarks, and she wrote that she accepted it while remaining unsure what making amends would involve.
For game teams adopting generative systems, public reporting around comparable projects has repeatedly shown that technical scope and workforce communication cannot be separated cleanly. Clearly distinguishing authored narrative content from generative gameplay systems, documenting where generated text, audio, or music appear, and providing platform disclosures early can reduce ambiguity for players and collaborators. Those are general production and governance patterns, not a conclusion about the facts disputed between Saber and Sacco.
Rideshare "Stimulator" has not yet been released. Its public Steam disclosure and the eventual behavior of the free-ride mode will provide the clearest available record of how broadly generative systems are used in the shipped game.
Key Points
- 1Saber denied replacing writers, while confirming AI-backed dialogue for an experimental mode with an unlimited pool of simulated passengers.
- 2Steam disclosure changed from an initially undisclosed implementation to coverage of AI voiceovers, music, and non-campaign dialogue, according to Kotaku.
- 3Comparable generative game systems require explicit boundaries between authored content and runtime outputs for testing, disclosure, and governance.
Scoring Rationale
The dispute is a notable example of generative AI adoption colliding with creative labor claims and consumer disclosure in game development. It is narrower than a major model or platform release, but its reported use of generated dialogue, audio, and music offers relevant governance lessons for teams deploying generative content.
Sources
Public references used for this report.
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