Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch has entered the controversy surrounding the development of the upcoming game "Rideshare," directly addressing claims made by the title's former lead writer, Stella Sacco.
Sacco had alleged that Saber Interactive replaced her with generative AI tools for the game and failed to disclose the technology's use. Saber Interactive initially denied these claims, stating that neither the publisher nor developer Unigine had replaced writers with AI. However, the company did confirm that generative AI was being utilized for the game's "free ride" mode, explaining it was a necessity due to the mode's infinite passenger count.
Karch, in a personal statement to This Week In Video Games, escalated the situation by personally attacking Sacco and confirming generative AI's involvement in "certain parts of the game." He referred to Sacco as "Stella who?" and stated he had never spoken to her. Karch claimed the game's script would have been attributed to someone else if it were award-winning and that Sacco violated her confidentiality agreement by disclosing the AI use before the company was ready.
"We look at our use of AI in this particular game, which will be a lower priced title, as a plus for consumers," Karch stated. "As far as Stella is concerned, she was replaced by someone more talented and terminated for a variety of reasons a few months later." He added, "I would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI. At least we would be dealing with someone programmed to be honest."
Sacco, in response, accused Karch of lashing out and suggested his statement was "remarkably pathetic" and would cause more damage to Saber's reputation than any controversy. She maintained that her original claims were true and that the CEO's public comments would be many people's first exposure to the Saber brand.
Saber Interactive stated that the game's Steam page will eventually be updated to reflect the finalized feature set, including the use of AI. The discussion section on the game's Steam page has reportedly become a focal point for arguments regarding the undisclosed AI integration and the publisher's handling of the controversy.