Saber Interactive's chief creative officer Tim Willits has pushed back on claims the studio replaced a writer with artificial intelligence, calling the accusation "crazy" and confirming the company does not use generative AI in its core production pipelines for major titles like Space Marine and Hellraiser.
The dispute began in August when writer Stella Sacco said she was the lead writer on the upcoming Rideshare Stimulator but was "replaced … with ChatGPT midway through development." CEO Matthew Karch responded with a sharp statement: "Stella who? I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her … she was replaced by someone more talented and terminated for a variety of reasons a few months later."
Speaking at Gamescom, Willits dismissed the exchange as Karch's sarcasm. "The important thing is that we've never replaced anybody with AI," he said. "That's crazy. And we don't use generative AI in Space Marine, and Hellraiser, and Stuntman, and everything."
Where AI experimentation actually happens
Willits acknowledged that Saber is experimenting with AI in specific, clearly labeled areas. Rideshare Stimulator's Steam page discloses that the main campaign story, characters, and dialogue are written by human writers, while AI tools handle voice generation and some localization. An optional Free Ride mode includes AI-generated passenger missions and localized dialogue, and the game's radio stations mix human-made music with AI-generated tracks.
"We are experimenting with it, because we don't know where in the industry it's going to be effective, where people will like it, where it's useful," Willits said. "Very clear that the other stuff was all written by humans. Even the side missions were all written by humans."
The search for a meaningful use case
Willits does not use generative AI in production pipelines for code, environments, or textures. He framed the current moment as a period of exploration, comparing AI to earlier technologies that took time to find their place. He predicted a developer will eventually find "such a clever and brilliant use case for true modern AI integration into an experience where everyone will be like, 'Oh, that's it,' and everyone will understand that that's how it can be."
He said the Rideshare game serves as a testbed. "It's a great experiment," he said. "I'm curious to see how it plays out for us, how it works in our Rideshare game, and how people are going to like it, and how it's integrated."
Why this matters for creatives
The public spat highlights a tension many creative professionals feel: fear that AI will replace them outright. Saber's position - clear disclosure on AI use, human-led core storytelling, and experimental AI in optional modes - offers one model for how studios might navigate this. For writers, designers, and other AI for Creatives, the takeaway is less about whether AI will be used and more about how transparently it is deployed and where the boundaries are drawn. The difference between replacement and augmentation comes down to who controls the creative work and whether the audience knows what they are getting.
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