Saber CEO denies AI writing replacement, ex-lead writer fires back with receipts

A messy, public dispute over AI’s role in game writing has erupted between Saber Interactive and a former lead writer. Stella Sacco, who says she was the lead writer on the recently announced Rideshare Stimulator, posted on Bluesky that Saber “replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development” and that all passenger voices were AI-generated. The claim directly contradicts a statement from Saber CEO Matthew Karch, who told The Verge that “Neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI” for the project.

Karch insists the game’s narrative was “written entirely by real people” and that only one experimental, free-ride mode uses AI—a necessity, he argues, because the mode features an infinite number of passengers. He also framed Saber as a bulwark against industry contraction, stating that none of the company’s 3,000-plus employees need to worry about being replaced. It’s a stark defense that seems calibrated to reassure both the workforce and a player base increasingly skeptical of generative content.

Sacco isn’t buying it. In a follow-up message, she rejected what she sees as a contradictory stance. “My indignation at being called a liar by that statement aside, you can’t meaningfully say both ‘writers wrote the story’ and ‘computers wrote the text,’” she said. Her core argument is blunt: if AI wrote or will write any passenger dialogue—some of which may sit alongside her own work—then she was functionally replaced, just as she claims Saber told her she would be in December 2023. The Rideshare Stimulator Steam page currently carries no disclosure about generative AI use, a notable omission given Steam’s recent push for transparency on the issue.

This standoff is a microcosm of the labor friction spreading across game development. It’s no longer just about whether AI can produce passable dialogue; it’s about the definition of replacement itself. If a studio uses AI to generate content that a human previously produced, even in a single mode, does that constitute replacement? Sacco’s position is an unambiguous yes. Saber’s is a semantic sidestep—admitting to the tool’s use while denying its consequence. The real verdict will come from players launching the game and wondering if they’re hearing a writer’s voice or a model’s echo.