Saber Responds to AI Backlash: 'We Will Never Fire Someone and Replace Them with AI'

Saber Interactive's CCO Tim Willits addresses AI criticism, promising no layoffs due to AI and clarifying its use in Rideshare Simulator.

Ever found yourself wondering if AI is coming for your job? In the gaming industry, it's a hot topic, and Saber Interactive has been in the crosshairs lately. After their CEO Matthew Karch clashed with a former writer over AI replacement claims, the company's chief creative officer, Tim Willits, is setting the record straight.

Willits recently spoke out, promising, "We will never fire someone and replace them with AI." That's a bold statement, especially given the backlash Saber faced over their upcoming game, Rideshare Simulator. If you're not familiar, it's a game where you play as a rideshare driver, picking up passengers and dealing with their quirky demands. The devs openly admit to using generative AI, which sparked a firestorm of criticism.

So, what's the real deal? Willits explains that the main campaign's dialogue is written by humans. The AI comes in for a "free ride" mode, where they want to reference real-world events quickly. "We use AI to generate that because we want to do it so fast," he said, mentioning weekly or biweekly updates with AI-generated content. It's about speed, not replacing people.

He also clarified that other Saber titles—like the upcoming Hellraiser, Turok, Stuntman, and Space Marine games—don't use AI. Saber is experimenting, like many studios, but Willits is upfront about the uncertainty: "We want to figure this new technology out, and we don't know exactly where it's gonna go, and our players don't know where it's gonna go, so we're all... trying as a society to figure this out together."

When pressed about the specific claim that Saber fired writers and replaced them with AI, Willits was firm: "I promise you we have never let anyone go and replaced them with AI. We hire people all the time." A spokesperson echoed this, noting that Saber's writing staff has tripled since 2023, and Rideshare's story was written entirely by real people. The AI is only used in that experimental free-ride mode "by necessity," because there are infinite passengers.

And for the 3,000+ employees? "None of our 3000+ employees have to worry about being replaced by AI," the developer said. Meanwhile, the writer at the center of the controversy, Stella Sacco, revealed that Karch reached out to "apologize unreservedly" for his earlier comments, which included, "Stella who? I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her." Sacco, a trans woman, acknowledged the apology but noted the sting of having her 20-year career publicly maligned.

So, is this enough to quell the AI fears? It's a complex issue, and Saber is trying to navigate it. But one thing's clear: they're not replacing humans with machines—at least not yet. What do you think? Is AI in games a step forward or a slippery slope? Let us know in the comments!