Tim Willits, the chief creative officer at Saber Interactive, weighed in on the controversy sparked by CEO Matthew Karch’s reaction to allegations that a company writer had been substituted with ChatGPT. The dispute began when Stella Sacco, who identified herself as the lead writer for Saber’s upcoming title Rideshare Simulator, claimed in August that she was removed from the project and replaced by the language model halfway through development. In response, Karch issued a sharply worded rebuttal, stating, “Stella who? I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her… As far as Stella is concerned, she was replaced by someone more talented and terminated for a variety of reasons a few months later.” Sacco fired back with her own statement, insisting that her original claim was accurate and describing Karch’s comment as “remarkably pathetic for the CEO of any company to be making.” The exchange caught the attention of GamesIndustry.biz, which approached Willits at Gamescom for comment.
Willits dismissed the CEO’s remarks as sarcasm, saying, “That’s just Matt’s sarcasm, that’s all.” He then moved on to the core issue: the use of artificial intelligence in Saber’s development pipelines. According to Willits, the company has never swapped a human employee for an AI system.
“That idea is absurd,” he said. “We don’t use generative AI in any of our flagship titles—Space Marine, Hellraiser, Stuntman, or any of the other projects we’ve released.” He emphasized that all narrative elements, including the main campaign story, characters, and dialogue, are crafted by human writers.
The only AI involvement, he explained, is limited to experimental features and ancillary tasks. He clarified that Saber is currently testing AI in a very specific context: the optional “Free Ride” mode of Rideshare Simulator. In this mode, AI‑generated passenger missions and localized dialogue are offered as a supplemental experience. Additionally, AI tools are employed for voice generation and certain aspects of localization, while the game’s radio stations blend both human‑composed and AI‑produced music.
The Steam store page for Rideshare Simulator explicitly states that the primary campaign narrative and side missions are human‑written, with AI only assisting in the peripheral features mentioned. Willits also addressed rumors that AI might be used for code, environment design, or texture creation. He confirmed that Saber’s production pipelines do not incorporate generative AI for those core development tasks.
“We’re not feeding AI models our source code or letting them generate level geometry,” he said. “Our artists and programmers are still the ones building the world brick by brick.” Looking ahead, Willits expressed optimism that a breakthrough use case for AI could emerge, one that would make the technology feel indispensable to both developers and players.
He likened the current exploratory phase to the early days of any transformative technology: “When a new tool first appears, people ask, ‘What are we going to do with it? How will it work?’ Over time, we discover where it fits into everyday workflows.” He speculated that future Gamescom events might showcase larger titles that integrate AI more prominently, and he hinted that Saber could reveal more concrete applications in the next year’s show. “It will be interesting to see where it goes,” Willits said. “I bet at next year’s Gamescom we’ll have some bigger games that actually focus on it.
I’m curious to see how it plays out for us, how it works in our Rideshare game, how people respond, and how it can be woven into the overall experience. It’s a great experiment.” In summary, while Saber Interactive is experimenting with AI‑driven features—particularly in the optional, ancillary parts of Rideshare Simulator—the company maintains that all substantive creative work, from story arcs to mission design, remains firmly in human hands. The full interview with Willits will be published by GamesIndustry.biz tomorrow, offering further insight into the studio’s stance on AI and its future role in game development.