Saber Interactive Denies Replacing Writer with ChatGPT Despite Former Lead Writer's Claims

Saber denies replacing Rideshare Stimulator's writers with ChatGPT

After a former lead writer claimed Saber "replaced me with ChatGPT," CEO Matthew Karch now claims, "Neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI," for the Rideshare "Stimulator" game announced last month, developed by Unigine. The writer, Stella Sacco, says differently, however, posting on Bluesky that "I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too. Either they changed direction at some point or they're not disclosing it on Steam." Saber describes Rideshare "Stimulator" as an "immersive driving simulation game that puts you behind the wheel as a rideshare business owner," and the segments shown in a teaser trailer appear to include AI-generated writing and audio for the simulated riders who are being picked up. The game's Steam listing does not currently include any disclosure about using generative AI. A statement from Karch provided to The Verge says, "The game will also feature an experimental, free-ride mode that by necessity incorporates AI as the number of passengers in the game is infinite. We are firm believers in using AI tools to improve or enhance gameplay experiences and improve NPC behavior as we have done since Saber was founded in 2001," it continued, also claiming that "As the industry has continued to contract, Saber continues to hire. None of our 3000+ employees have to worry about being replaced by AI." Sacco replied to Karch's statement in a message sent to The Verge. "My indignation at being called a liar by that statement aside, you can't meaningfully say both 'writers wrote the story' and 'computers wrote the text,'" Sacco says. "If rides I wrote are in there, and also rides AI wrote or will write are in there, then AI was still used, and I was still replaced, just as Saber told me they were doing in December 2023. They're trying to have it both ways. You can't win on the labor part of the statement while you admit you took work away from labor in the next part. It's ridiculous."

Saber Interactive denies replacing writer with ChatGPT on its new driving game, but says it will use AI 'as the number of passengers in the game is infinite'

Despite the admission, there's currently no AI disclosure on the Rideshare "Stimulator" Steam page. Saber Interactive's upcoming Rideshare "Stimulator" drew some eyeballs today when Saber CEO Matthew Karch confirmed that its trailer includes a hidden jab at Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford. But that same trailer sparked a grimmer reaction from former lead writer Stella Sacco, who said on Bluesky that she was replaced on the project by ChatGPT. Saber, however, denies the claim, saying that no writers were replaced with AI "for Rideshare or any other game." "I didn't even see this had been announced," Sacco wrote earlier today. "I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too. Either they changed direction at some point or they're not disclosing it on Steam." I didn't even see this had been announced. I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too. Either they changed direction at some point or they're not disclosing it on Steam -- @antlervel.vet ( @antlervel.vet.bsky.social) 2026-08-11T23:59:28.332Z Sacco also shared an image of a December 2023 social media post, in which she had written, "I got replaced on one of my games at work. By ChatGPT." Sacco's LinkedIn account indicates that she was lead writer at Saber Interactive from July 2023 to July 2024, during which she worked on Stuntman Hollywood and other games. In a subsequent post, Sacco said the decision to replace her with a chatbot was made by "one to two AI dummy higher-ups at Saber," and that she has no issues with Rideshare "Stimulator" developer Unigine. "My boss, to his credit, argued over and over with the c-level who pushed the AI -- 'we already have Stella and she's funny and she's good at this, she's done live games before so live ops are no problem,' etc -- but the suit insisted 'gamers love new tech' so using AI would be 'great marketing'," she wrote. The allegation resulted in immediate blowback on YouTube and Steam, over both the alleged use of AI and the lack of disclosure on the game's Steam page. In a statement provided to PC Gamer, however, Saber denied Sacco's claim, although it acknowledged the presence of AI within the game. "Neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI for Rideshare or any other game," the studio said. "In fact, Saber's staff of writers has tripled since 2023. Rideshare's story was written entirely by real people. "The game will also feature an experimental, free-ride mode that by necessity incorporates AI as the number of passengers in the game is infinite. We are firm believers in using AI tools to improve or enhance gameplay experiences and improve NPC behavior as we have done since Saber was founded in 2001. As the industry has continued to contract, Saber continues to hire. None of our 3000+ employees have to worry about being replaced by AI." In response to Saber's statement, Sacco told PC Gamer, "They can say what they want -- I was there, I even posted on Facebook about it at the time, and I have mentioned it on Bluesky several times without using the game's title. "They took me off the project to use ChatGPT to write the rest of the text, including planned live updates. If they changed plans in the intervening years, that's great, but again: I was there, and it was my job to write the game, and then it wasn't once Matt Karch decided using ChatGPT would be great publicity for the game." The Rideshare "Stimulator" Steam page says "each ride presents players with unique and unpredictable passenger stories, ensuring a diverse and engaging gameplay experience." That's not the most compelling bit of marketing I've ever read (and doesn't that make you wonder?) but it does imply the importance of strong narrative and writing to the overall experience. I had a friend who drove taxi years ago and he wasn't a huge fan of the work but he loved the people, and I think that will hold true in Rideshare "Stimulator" too: The mechanics of driving will provide a skeleton, but it's the people in the game world that will give it life -- or not, as the case may be. At the same time, though, it also jibes with what Saber said about the game's "free-ride mode," which essentially promises the opposite of strong narrative and writing. Specifying that "the story" was written by humans, as opposed to everything, is also effectively meaningless because it could refer to anything from the basic plot to a specific script -- and excludes narrative aspects like dialog, which is what ultimately makes a game like this work. The Steam page is also notably lacking an AI disclosure. I've asked Saber about that and will update if I receive a reply.

Saber Interactive "replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development" but AI use is not disclosed on Steam, claims former lead writer

"All the passenger voices were AI too," writer says of rideshare sim Publisher Saber Interactive allegedly heavily used generative AI in the upcoming driving sim Rideshare "Stimulator," even directly replacing some staff with AI bots like ChatGPT, without disclosing AI use in the game's Steam store page. Rideshare "Stimulator" was announced in a trailer released on July 30 by Saber and developer Unigine. Today, August 11, former lead writer Stella Sacco reacted to the news on Bluesky, suggesting Saber has buried its AI use. "I didn't even see this had been announced. I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development," Sacco says. "All the passenger voices were AI too. Either they changed direction at some point or they're not disclosing it on Steam." Sacco also points to a post she originally shared on December 21, 2023, which reads, "I got replaced on one of my games at work. With ChatGPT." Her LinkedIn career history shows she was with Saber from July 2023 through July 2024 as "lead writer for STUNTMAN HOLLYWOOD and other games across Saber's portfolio." Rideshare "Stimulator" is billed as a driving simulation game spliced with a rideshare business sim. Players plot and navigate routes through a city, speak to passengers, and aim for high driver ratings. "Dodge traffic, follow the rules, and race the clock to drop off your quirky passengers, each with a story that's either captivating, hilarious, or just plain weird," reads its Steam description. A freshly minted page on Saber's website echoes this wording. Notably absent from that Steam page is any sort of AI use disclosure. Games that use generative AI for "content that ships with your game, and is consumed by players" are required by Valve to disclose that usage on Steam. "This includes content such as artwork, sound, narrative, localization, etc.," per Steamworks content survey documentation. Many developers have told GamesRadar+ that they support Valve's gen AI policy, though its stance has seen opposition in the games industry, notably from Epic Games (and Epic Games Store) boss Tim Sweeney. Already, these accusations have made their way to YouTube comments on that announcement trailer, even for the PS5 version of the game. (Not that Sony needs any help inviting negative YouTube comments right now.) "'We replaced the writers and VAs with AI !' We can tell bro," reads a comment posted one hour before press time. "AI writing and voice work," adds another, posted one hour earlier. "I notice there is no AI disclosure on the steam page, are you gonna rectify that? Seems at least one of your writers got pushed out in favor of using chatgpt," a third recent comment says. I've reached out to Saber Interactive for comment on Rideshare "Stimulator" and its AI use and policies. In stranger news, Saber CEO Matt Karch recently confirmed that Rideshare "Simulator" does, indeed, contain a dig at Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford.