Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch apologises to writer Stella Sacco after 'replace her with AI' remark
Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch has apologised to writer Stella Sacco after publicly saying he would have been "happy to replace her with AI," a remark that ignited a heated dispute over the use of artificial intelligence in games writing.
Sacco confirmed on Bluesky that she received a lengthy apology email from Karch, in which he "apologised unreservedly for the awful way he spoke about me in the press." She said Karch told her he regretted "escalating" the row and how people online had subsequently spoken about her. Sacco said she would keep the full text of the email private, but confirmed it was from him. She accepted the apology, writing that "apologies are simply in too short a supply these days to spurn one when it's offered" (Eurogamer).
Karch also posted reflections on his behaviour on his LinkedIn account following the controversy.
The dispute began on 11th August, when Sacco — formerly a lead writer on Stuntman Hollywood — shared a trailer for Rideshare "Stimulator" on Bluesky and alleged she had been replaced by ChatGPT, claiming all the passenger voices in the game were AI-generated. Rideshare "Stimulator" is a taxi management game published by Saber and developed with Unigine, centred on running an app-based rideshare business.
Karch's response was combative. Speaking to This Week in Videogames, he began: "Stella who? I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her." He then said: "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" (Eurogamer). Sacco, a trans woman, called the statement "remarkably pathetic for the CEO of any company to be making."
Saber Interactive denied replacing writers with AI, telling PC Gamer: "Neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI for Rideshare or any other game." The company said its writing staff has tripled since 2023. However, Saber acknowledged that a more "experimental" free-ride mode in the game "by necessity incorporates AI as the number of the passengers in the game is infinite." Sacco separately told PC Gamer that Saber took her off the project to use ChatGPT to write the remaining text, including planned live updates.
Sacco pushed back on the suggestion that going public with the dispute means she "must love drama or be hard to work with." She also made clear that Karch's apology does not change her stance on the use of AI in games — a position that sits at the heart of an industry-wide debate over whether generative AI tools should supplement or replace human creative work.
What gives this particular row its edge is that both sides have spoken publicly, in their own words, at length. Sacco's allegations and Karch's retort were not filtered through statements or press teams — they appeared on social media and in interviews in real time, with players and fellow developers watching each exchange land.
