A public disagreement over Rideshare “Stimulator” has put game writing, generative AI, and disclosure back in the spotlight. Saber CEO Matthew Karch says the game’s story was “written entirely by real people” apart from one experimental mode, while former lead writer Stella Sacco says Saber “replaced me with ChatGPT.”
The dispute centers on what counts as replacement, what counts as AI-assisted content, and how clearly a game should explain the role of generative AI to players before launch.
What Saber Says About AI In The Game
Rideshare “Stimulator” was announced last month and is developed by Unigine. Saber describes it as an “immersive driving simulation game that puts you behind the wheel as a rideshare business owner.”
After Sacco’s claim, Karch responded with a denial. In a statement provided to The Verge, he said, “Neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI,” for the game.
Karch’s explanation draws a line between the game’s main written material and one separate feature. According to the statement, “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.”
That framing matters because Saber is presenting AI as part of a specific gameplay mode rather than as a wholesale replacement for writers. Karch also said, “We are firm believers in using AI tools to improve or enhance gameplay experiences and improve NPC behavior as we have done since Saber was founded in 2001.”
The statement also addressed labor concerns directly. Karch said, “As the industry has continued to contract, Saber continues to hire. None of our 3000+ employees have to worry about being replaced by AI.”
What Stella Sacco Says Happened
Sacco has given a very different account. On Bluesky, she wrote, “I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too. Either they changed direction at some point or they’re not disclosing it on Steam.”
Her claim is not only that AI exists somewhere in the project. It is that AI entered the production process in a way that displaced her work, and that the passenger voices were also AI.
Sacco later replied to Karch’s statement in a message sent to The Verge. She rejected the idea that Saber’s position resolves the issue, saying, “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 continued, “If rides I wrote are in there, and also rides AI wrote or will write are in there, then AI was still used, and I was still replaced, just as Saber told me they were doing in December 2023. They’re trying to have it both ways. You can’t win on the labor part of the statement while you admit you took work away from labor in the next part. It’s ridiculous.”
The Disclosure Question
The game’s Steam listing does not currently include any disclosure about using generative AI. That point is central because the teaser trailer appears to include AI-generated writing and audio for simulated riders being picked up.
Based on the information available in the source, there are two claims sitting side by side:
- Saber says the game’s story was written by people, with AI used in an experimental free-ride mode.
- Sacco says she was replaced with ChatGPT midway through development and that passenger voices were AI.
- The Steam listing does not currently disclose generative AI use.
Those facts leave a practical question for players: where does authored story content end, and where does AI-generated rider content begin? Saber’s statement says one mode requires AI because the number of passengers is infinite. Sacco’s response argues that, if rides she wrote and rides AI wrote both appear in the game, AI was still used in the writing pipeline in a labor-relevant way.
That difference is not just semantic. For a driving simulation built around passenger interactions, rider dialogue and voices can be part of the core experience. Even if the main story is human-written, AI-generated passenger material could still shape how the game feels to players.
Why The Dispute Matters
The Rideshare “Stimulator” argument shows how difficult it can be to describe AI use in games with a single sentence. A studio may see AI as a tool for expanding NPC behavior or supporting an experimental mode. A writer may see the same deployment as work being removed from human creators.
Both positions are tied to the same underlying issue: games often blend scripted content, systemic behavior, and player-driven variation. When generative AI is added to that mix, the boundary between authored writing and machine-created content can become harder for outsiders to understand.
For Saber, the emphasis is on AI as an enhancement and on the claim that writers were not replaced. For Sacco, the emphasis is on the lived production claim that Saber told her in December 2023 that the work was being taken away from labor.
The clearest facts remain limited. Saber and Unigine deny replacing writers with AI. Sacco says Saber replaced her with ChatGPT. The game includes, according to Karch, an experimental free-ride mode that incorporates AI. The Steam listing does not currently include a generative AI disclosure.
Until Saber explains more about what content is human-written, what content is AI-generated, and how passenger voices are produced, the dispute around Rideshare “Stimulator” is likely to remain focused on the same unresolved point: whether AI was merely used to expand gameplay, or whether it took over work that a writer had been hired to do.