Saber Interactive has taken the step of adding a clear AI usage disclaimer to the Steam store page for its title Rideshare Simulator after a wave of controversy erupted surrounding claims that the company had dismissed a human writer in favor of content generated by artificial intelligence. The notice, which now appears prominently on the game's storefront, is intended to address concerns raised by both the gaming community and industry observers about the ethical implications of substituting a creative professional with a machine‑learning model.
The full text of the disclaimer reads as follows: "This update follows recent statements made by Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch concerning former writer Stella Sacco, who was employed by Saber from July 2023 until July 2024. Ms. Sacco has alleged that she was removed from the Rideshare Simulator project part‑way through development and that her responsibilities were subsequently taken over by ChatGPT, alongside other undisclosed AI tools used during the game's creation.
In response, Mr. Karch has clarified that Ms. Sacco was replaced by an individual he described as ‘more talented’ and that her employment was terminated for a range of reasons a few months later.
He further added that, in hindsight, he would have been comfortable substituting her work with AI‑generated content." The controversy began when former lead writer Stella Sacco publicly claimed that her position on the Rideshare Simulator team was terminated midway through the project, and that the vacancy was filled with text produced by ChatGPT. Sacco also suggested that other aspects of the game's development had incorporated AI without prior disclosure, sparking a broader debate about transparency and the role of machine‑generated content in video games.
Matt Karch, the company's chief executive, responded to these allegations in a series of interviews and social‑media posts. He asserted that Sacco had been "replaced by someone more talented and terminated for a variety of reasons a few months later," and admitted that, looking back, he might have been willing to replace her contributions entirely with AI.
In a conversation with the podcast This Week In Videogames, Karch said, "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 finalised the feature set." Karch framed the use of AI as a consumer benefit, especially given that Rideshare Simulator is positioned as a lower‑priced title. He argued that leveraging artificial intelligence could streamline development, reduce costs, and potentially deliver a more polished experience for players.
However, critics argued that such a stance glossed over the ethical concerns of replacing human creativity with algorithms, especially without clear communication to the audience. The situation took another turn when Sacco posted on the social‑media platform BlueSky over the weekend, stating that Karch had "apologised unreservedly for the awful way he spoke about me in the press." She wrote, "I've been firm from the beginning that I was telling the truth; I think we can all now agree that it's been borne out.
Matt expressed a desire to make it right with me; at this time I don't really know what that looks like for me, and I'll have to take some time to sit with it, but I do at least accept his apology." Karch later issued a separate public comment on LinkedIn, attempting to contextualise his earlier reaction. He said, "I unfortunately got triggered by certain later comments (for reasons I won't get into) and shot first and thought second about how to respond. It happens and I am a human being. I have done what I can to rectify." The exchange highlights a broader industry conversation about the balance between technological efficiency and the preservation of human talent.
While AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and other language models can accelerate writing, debugging, and localization tasks, many creators worry that overreliance on these systems could marginalise writers, artists, and designers who bring nuanced storytelling and cultural sensitivity to games. In response to the backlash, Saber Interactive announced that it would be more transparent about any AI involvement moving forward.
The company pledged to update the Steam page with a detailed breakdown of which specific features or assets were generated or assisted by AI, and to provide a timeline for when those updates would be live. This move is intended to rebuild trust with both the player base and the broader development community, which has expressed concern that undisclosed AI usage could lead to a homogenisation of game narratives and a reduction in the diversity of creative voices.
Industry analysts note that this incident could serve as a case study for how studios manage AI integration. Some experts suggest that clear attribution—similar to crediting voice actors or composers—should become standard practice when AI contributes significantly to a game's content.
Others argue that a voluntary code of ethics, perhaps overseen by a coalition of publishers, could help define acceptable boundaries for AI usage, ensuring that human creators are not displaced without fair compensation or acknowledgment. For now, the immediate outcome for Rideshare Simulator is a revised Steam store page that includes the AI disclaimer, a public apology from the CEO, and a promise of greater openness.
Whether these steps will satisfy critics remains to be seen, but the episode underscores the growing pains of an industry grappling with rapid technological change. As AI continues to evolve, game developers will likely need to navigate a delicate balance: harnessing the efficiency of machine‑generated content while preserving the irreplaceable value of human imagination and expertise.