Rideshare “Stimulator,” developed by Unigine under Saber Interactive, has landed in an AI controversy. Former Lead Writer Stella Sacco revealed that she was replaced by ChatGPT mid-development, and the game’s passenger voices were AI-generated. Saber denied ever using AI to replace writers, emphasizing that the game’s main story was completed by real people, and their writing team has actually tripled since 2023.
CEO’s Response Only Made Things Worse!
Saber CEO Matthew Karch responded personally, stating Sacco was fired for other reasons and was later replaced by someone “more capable.” But the most controversial part: he said if he could go back, he would have been happy to directly replace Sacco with AI, even mocking that AI would “at least be set to be honest.” What started as an AI usage dispute escalated dramatically when the CEO himself poured fuel on the fire.
AI Is Actually Used, But Steam Tags Haven’t Caught Up
While Saber denied replacing writers with AI, the company confirmed Rideshare “Stimulator” does use generative AI, primarily in the experimental Free-Ride mode to handle massive amounts of passenger dialogue. Karch stated this AI feature is in final confirmation stage, and Steam page AI disclosure info will be updated once complete. So the game really does use AI now — it’s just that the Steam AI tags are still “wait, we haven’t filled those in yet.”
Thought AI Would Improve the Game, But It’s Improved the News Cycle First
Saber emphasized using AI isn’t about cutting jobs or reducing labor costs, but about improving game experience and NPC behavior. They even mentioned this experimental mode still needs two writers and multiple programmers working with AI to produce reasonable results. However, former Lead Writer Sacco still maintains her stance, believing Karch’s response will cause even more damage to Saber’s brand image. It seems this driving simulation game hasn’t officially hit the road yet, but the development team is already stuck in traffic on the AI controversy highway.