Saber Interactive’s game Rideshare Stimulator, a taxi-driving simulation featuring AI-assisted passenger dialogue and an experimental free-ride mode with infinite NPC passengers, has sparked controversy over its use of AI in development [1, 2, 3, 4].
Former lead writer Stella Sacco publicly accused Saber Interactive on August 11, 2026, of replacing her mid-development with ChatGPT AI, claiming all passenger voices and text were generated by the AI [1, 2, 5]. Sacco asserts the decision to use AI to replace her came from Saber as the publisher, not from the development studio Unigine [1, 2, 4, 5]. "I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too," Sacco said [1]. She added that Saber CEO Matthew Karch’s hostile response was because he did not want the public to know about the AI use [1].
Saber Interactive denied that any writers were replaced by AI, insisting the game’s story was written entirely by human writers [1, 2, 3, 4]. The company admitted its experimental free-ride mode does use generative AI to handle dialogue for the infinite number of NPC passengers in that mode [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. CEO Matthew Karch said the AI use is not about cutting costs or reducing staff but about improving the gameplay experience and NPC behavior [2, 6, 3, 5]. He stated, "I would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI. At least we would be dealing with someone programmed to be honest," signaling his critical view of Sacco’s work [1]. Karch also emphasized, "It's not and has never been about efficiencies and team reductions. Rather it's about how AI can improve the game experience" [6].
Saber Interactive’s writing staff has reportedly tripled since 2023, contradicting claims that AI is replacing writers [1, 2, 3]. The company employs over 3,000 staff in total [2, 3]. Following community calls, Saber confirmed it will add an AI content label on the Rideshare Stimulator Steam page to improve transparency [6].
The dispute has included a public back-and-forth between Sacco and Saber since early August 2026 [1, 2, 5]. Sacco’s accusation challenges Saber’s narrative while the publisher defends its use of AI as limited to background content and non-story elements.
Saber’s decision to add an AI content label on Steam is scheduled following the controversy, allowing players to understand where AI is involved in the game’s features [6].
