Arc Raiders replaces AI voice lines with professional actors after player backlash
7 Sources
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Arc Raiders replaced some of its AI-generated voice lines, using professional actors instead
In an unexpected twist, humans have taken some jobs back from AI. Embark Studios' CEO Patrick Söderlund recently told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio "re-recorded" some of the AI-generated voice lines in Arc Raiders with human voices, only after its successful launch in October. "There is a
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ARC Raiders opts to replace AI-generated dialogue with professional voice actors
In a bizarre inversion of recent trends, human actors have managed to steal work from artificial intelligence. Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz recently, Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund revealed that the studio had replaced AI-generated dialogue with human voices in their successful ARC Raiders
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Arc Raiders now has fewer AI voice lines: 'A real professional actor is better than AI'
When Arc Raiders launched last fall, it received plenty of praise. It was also dragged somewhat for its use of gen-AI voices, much like in The Finals, the previous game from developer Embark Studios. In a new interview with GameIndustry.biz, studio head Patrick Söderlund disclosed that Arc Raiders
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Arc Raiders CEO says studio has "re-recorded" AI lines: "A real professional actor is better than AI; that's just how it is"
Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios has re-recorded some of its AI-generated voice lines, acknowledging "there is a quality difference" between lines recorded by human actors and those generated by AI. "We use AI as tools to assist in some content creation, but it's always in the context of
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Arc Raiders Replacing AI-Generated Voices With Human Actors
Arc Raiders was one of the biggest games of 2025, and it continues to be incredibly popular on Steam. But its use of AI-generated voice lines rubbed many the wrong way. Now, Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund says the team has replaced many of the text-to-speech lines with real human-recorded
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Arc Raiders' AI Voice Lines Were Re-Recorded by Human Actors After Launch
Arc Raiders was criticised for using AI-generated voice lines Arc Raiders, the hit extraction shooter from Embark Studios, launched in October last year and faced criticism for its use of AI-generated voice lines. Months after the game's launch, Embark CEO Patrick Söderlund has said the studio
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Embark CEO Says 'Some' Arc Raiders AI Voice Lines Were Re-Recorded by Humans Post-Launch: 'There Is a Quality Difference' - IGN
"We don't necessarily believe in replacing humans with AI all the time." Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund says Arc Raiders now contains fewer AI voice lines than it did at launch after the team re-recorded some lines with real actors. Söderlund offered an update on the studio's views
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Embark Studios has re-recorded AI-generated voice lines in Arc Raiders with professional human actors following player criticism. CEO Patrick Söderlund acknowledged a clear quality difference, stating that real actors deliver superior performance. Despite the game's success with nearly 500,000 peak players on Steam, the studio is responding to concerns about immersion while maintaining AI as a production tool for testing.
Arc Raiders Shifts Away from AI-Generated Voice Lines
Embark Studios has begun replacing AI-generated voice lines in Arc Raiders with recordings from professional human actors, marking a notable reversal in the gaming industry's AI adoption trend
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. CEO Patrick Söderlund confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that the studio "re-recorded" some of the AI voice content post-launch, acknowledging a clear quality difference between synthetic and human performances4
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Source: Polygon
"There is a quality difference. A real professional actor is better than AI; that's just how it is," Söderlund stated
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. The decision comes after the extraction shooter achieved remarkable success, peaking at nearly half a million users on Steam and generating 14 million sales in February with more than 6 million weekly active users2
.Player Criticism Drives Studio Response
Despite Arc Raiders' breakout performance, player backlash over text-to-speech AI implementation created tension around the game's October launch
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. Critics argued that the AI-generated voice lines harmed immersion in the otherwise compelling story and world, particularly affecting the in-match ping system where many synthetic voices appeared2
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Source: Mashable
Embark Studios' original rationale centered on efficiency for their live-service game. The text-to-speech system allowed the developer to add voice content without constantly bringing voice actors back to the studio for each update
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. The studio had paid voice actors for approval to license their voices for text-to-speech AI, focusing on lines "that aren't as essential to the immersion of the experience, mostly ping system audio"4
.AI as a Production Tool, Not Replacement
Söderlund emphasized that Embark Studios views AI as a production tool rather than a permanent replacement for talent
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. "We can test 15 different lines without recording them, and then we know what to record," he explained, describing how AI helps the team iterate during game development5
. The studio continues to pay voice actors for all time spent in the recording booth and brings many of them back for ongoing updates4
.However, Söderlund's use of the word "some" when describing which AI-generated voice lines were replaced suggests Embark Studios isn't abandoning text-to-speech entirely
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. For select usage, the studio still pays actors to license their voices through text-to-speech for less critical audio elements5
.Related Stories
Broader Implications for the Gaming Industry
The Arc Raiders situation reflects ongoing debates about AI integration in game development. Nexon CEO Junghun Lee, whose company publishes Arc Raiders, claimed last year that "every game company is now using AI," though other developers disputed this assertion
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. AI was a major talking point at the recent Game Developers Conference, though consensus on best practices remains elusive3
.Embark Studios emphasized that no generative AI was used in creating the game's visuals, which received widespread praise
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. This distinction matters to players concerned about artistic integrity and the human cost of AI adoption in creative industries. As AI use continues to accelerate in the gaming industry, expect more heated debates about balancing cost-saving benefits against superior quality from human talent2
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Source: Engadget
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