Saber Interactive CEO Responds To Claims Writer Was Replaced By AI
A full recap of the Rideshare "Stimulator" drama, which got way too personal.
Last week, Saber Interactive's upcoming Rideshare "Stimulator" became the subject of an online controversy after its former writer, Stella Sacco, confirmed it was the unannounced project she said she was fired from and replaced by ChatGPT in 2025. She clarified this after the trailer for the driving simulator focusing on running a ridesharing business was released:
"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."
In a subsequent post, Sacco provided further context about the situation:
"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'."
Naturally, the allegations sparked a lot of backlash, with people criticizing the game over its use of AI and the lack of any disclosure about it. In a statement to PC Gamer, Saber Interactive denied Sacco's claims while acknowledging that AI is used in the game:
"Neither Saber nor Unigine has replaced any writers with AI for Rideshare or any other game. 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."
Things then escalated when CEO Matt Karch gave his own statement to This Week in Video Games. Instead of simply addressing the claims, he made several personal remarks about Sacco, questioning her competency, and adding that he "would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI".
"Stella who? I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her. We have already said we are using AI for certain parts of the game and will update the Steam page once we have finalized the feature set."
In response to Karch's comments, Sacco released a public statement, which reads:
"That statement is remarkably pathetic for the CEO of any company to be making, and combined with the AI use, it will do far more damage to Saber's reputation than it ever could mine. This screed will be many people's first exposure to the Saber brand."
Sacco later shared a post on Bluesky saying that Karch had privately messaged her and "apologized unreservedly for the awful way he spoke about me in the press".
Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. Karch then published another statement on LinkedIn, where he didn't directly mention Sacco but reflected on the pressures and challenges of being a CEO:
"Resolve issues human-to-human. Escalating disputes through media channels or public statements rarely solves anything. Real resolution happens through direct, personal connection. If you cross a line, own it directly with the person involved."
Around the same time, veteran writer Chet Faliszek published a 26-minute video discussing Saber Interactive's use of AI in game development and the public response from the company's leadership. In his post, Karch is seemingly addressing that video:
"Case in point: a 26-minute video essay from a well-known writer of some classic games who dedicated it entirely to analyzing a single sarcastic quote of mine, pretending he knew exactly who I am – which somehow concluded with personal remarks about my physical anatomy and encouragement to accost me."
Ironically, Karch ignored his own advice and escalated the situation again, just as things were starting to calm down, by providing so much identifying information about Faliszek's video. Hopefully, this is the last we hear about this story. For now, Saber has finally added an AI disclosure to the Steam page for Rideshare "Stimulator". It states that AI tools are used for voice generation and some localization, as well as for generating passenger missions and localized dialogue. The game also features radio stations with AI-generated music.
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