Saber CEO Escalates AI Writer Dispute Over Rideshare Stimulator
Saber Interactive has denied replacing a writer with AI on Rideshare Stimulator, while CEO Matthew Karch has issued a sharper response to the former lead writer’s claims.
Former lead writer Stella Sacco said she worked on the project before being removed, writing on social media that “Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development.” She also alleged that passenger voices were generated with AI. PC Gamer reported her claims and Saber’s response.
Saber denies that any writer was replaced by AI and says the game’s main story was written by people. The company has, however, confirmed that an experimental free-ride mode will use AI-generated content because of the potentially unlimited number of passenger encounters.
The dispute escalated further in an update reported by GamesIndustry.biz. Karch said Sacco was “replaced by someone more talented and terminated for a variety of reasons a few months later.”
Sacco continues to dispute Saber’s version of events. Speaking to The Verge, she argued that AI still displaced writing work even if human-written material remains in the final game.
The game’s use of AI has also raised questions around disclosure. PC Gamer reported that the Steam page did not include an AI disclosure at the time, with Saber saying it would be updated once the feature set is finalized.
Rideshare Stimulator is being developed by UNIGINE and published by Saber Interactive for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. A release date has not yet been confirmed.
