Game Studio Says It Didn't Replace Its Writer With ChatGPT. The Writer Says Otherwise.
Saber Interactive claims no writers were swapped for AI on its new driving game. The lead writer who was let go disagrees, and the studio's own statement appears to undercut its denial.
Key points
- Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch stated publicly that "neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI" on the game Rideshare Stimulator.
- Lead writer Stella Sacco says Saber told her in December 2023 that it was replacing her with ChatGPT, an AI chatbot made by OpenAI, midway through development.
- The game's Steam store listing, where players buy and review PC games, includes no disclosure that AI-generated content was used.
- Karch's own statement confirms AI writes content for the game's "infinite passengers" mode, a feature where AI generates rider dialogue on the fly.
- Sacco says the studio is trying to claim credit for human writing while quietly admitting AI replaced some of that work.
A dispute between a video game studio and one of its former writers has put a spotlight on a question a lot of creative workers are asking right now: when a company uses AI to replace a human and then denies it, who do you believe?
The studio in question is Saber Interactive, the company behind the newly announced Rideshare Stimulator, a driving game developed by its subsidiary Unigine where players run a rideshare business. Saber CEO Matthew Karch told The Verge AI that "neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI" on the project.
Stella Sacco, who was the game's lead writer, says that is false.
"I was lead writer on this one," Sacco posted on Bluesky. "And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too."
What does Saber's own statement actually say?
Karch's denial does not hold together under its own weight. His statement to The Verge AI confirms that the game uses AI to generate content: "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."
In plain English: the game creates an endless stream of rider characters, and AI writes what those characters say. Sacco's job was to write those characters.
Karch also said that Saber's 3,000-plus employees have no reason to worry about being replaced by AI. Sacco, who was not an employee but a contracted writer, is no longer working on the project.
What does Sacco say about the studio's position?
Sacco pushed back directly. "You can't meaningfully say both 'writers wrote the story' and 'computers wrote the text,'" she told The Verge AI. "If rides I wrote are in there, and also rides AI wrote are in there, then AI was still used, and I was still replaced, just as Saber told me they were doing in December 2023."
She called the studio's position "ridiculous" and said Saber is trying to win on the labour question while admitting in the same breath that it took work away from a human writer.
The game's Steam listing, at the time of writing, carries no disclosure that AI-generated writing or audio appears in the game. Several PC storefronts have begun asking developers to declare AI use, but disclosure is not yet consistently enforced.
What should writers and other creative freelancers take from this?
Before you take a contract, ask in writing whether AI tools will be used to supplement or replace your work mid-project, and whether the studio reserves the right to swap your deliverables for AI-generated alternatives. It is worth remembering that Sacco's story is visible because she spoke up. Many writers in the same situation stay quiet.
Survivorship bias runs the other way here too: for every public dispute like this one, there are likely dozens of quiet replacements no one ever hears about.
Honest takeaway: Get AI-use terms in your contract before you start, not after you've been let go.
