The boss of Rideshare Stimulator publisher Saber Interactive has confirmed that an AI label will be added to the game's Steam page, following public criticism.
Speaking to IGN, Saber CEO Matthew Karch said that the publisher wasn't "shying away" from the game's AI-powered features, which include generative speech and text in a secondary mode. "Once it's finalized we will update the Steam page," he added.
"In Rideshare we added an unrelated experimental mode to the game to play around with these concepts," Karch told us, referencing its Free Ride mode which features an "infinite" number of characters. "It's not the core experience. And even in this case it required us adding two writers and multiple coders to work with AI tools to try and get a reasonable result. Maybe we are bad at business but the net cost of incorporating these features was significantly higher than leaving them out.
"My PR team is always terrified by even broaching the subject but I would be happy to engage in a reasonable conversation about how AI can and should help shape gamer experiences," he continued. "It's not and has never been about efficiencies and team reductions. Rather it's about how AI can improve the game experience.
"Saber owns Digic, one of the best cinematics studios in the industry," Karch concluded. "Believe me we have no interest in having this powerhouse of a team replaced by AI tools that seem to get better by the week. For this reason we need to stay ahead of these tools and that requires hiring. It's swim or die. Of course we need to have a mastery of these tools as well."
Earlier this week, Karch was embroiled in a public back-and-forth between himself and former Rideshare Stimulator writer Stella Sacco, who stated that she had been "replaced" by ChatGPT after her departure from the project in 2023 — a claim he also denied.
"It's possible they changed direction on the project in the intervening years, but I was removed with the intention of being replaced by AI," Sacco said, relaying her side of the story to IGN, "and AI was in use on the project the entire time I was on it, whether for voice or text."
Responding to this, Karch noted that many games now used AI audio company Eleven Labs for prototyping, but stated that Sacco had been removed from the project for other reasons.
Regardless, the incident left the Steam forum for Rideshare Stimulator packed with complaints, with many calling for an AI disclosure on Valve's platform. Steam policy requires developers to report visible and in-game AI, but not background tools.
"This stuff is just a sideshow and a publicity stunt," Karch concluded. "This person was removed from the project three years ago. We have actually increased our writing staff since 2023. If I wanted publicity for this little game though, then I guess I have Stella to thank for it."
"Everything I said was true," Sacco said in a post on social media. "Here's more truth: that statement is remarkably pathetic for the CEO of any company to be making, and combined with the AI use it will do far more damage to Saber's reputation than it ever could mine. This screed will be many people's first exposure to the Saber brand.
"I appreciate everyone's support, but people who know me know I'm a person of principle, and one of those principles is don't let the bastards get away with it. I'm comfortable with what I said, and everyone got to see what kind of man is running Saber. This is my official public statement."
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
