These past two months with Arc Raiders have been the most fun I’ve had with games all year. It represents the most exciting and unpredictable multiplayer landscape I’ve jumped into since Sea of Thieves in 2018, which I consider my favorite game ever made. It’s safe to say I really love Arc Raiders. But it’s become difficult to fully espouse those feelings as we learn about Embark Studio’s use of generative AI.
According to the studio, Arc Raiders’ voice acting was initially performed by humans, then used to “train” AI so that it could speak in the actors’ voices while addressing any possible circumstance. For Embark, the team doesn’t need to bring in the voice actors each time new content is added to the game. The AI voices learn to speak in the voices of the actors, which the actors are said to have agreed upon when they were hired, and the tools take it from there. Maybe it shouldn’t have come as a surprise, since the team’s previous game, The Finals, uses generative AI in a similar way. In an interview, Embark assured players that the game’s visual artwork is entirely human-made, but admitted to using this text-to-speech training to bring voices to the game’s shop NPCs, emotes, and other character barks. Knowing this has left me conflicted when I think to sing the game’s praises.
On one hand, I can’t deny the hold Arc Raiders has taken over me. The heart wants what the heart wants, and Embark’s extraction shooter, rich in emergent, player-driven drama, has lit my heart on fire in a way few games ever have. At the same time, I’ve already written my review. Though it was a glowing one that I don’t regret, I also feel it’s my job to call out this disappointing practice. In recent weeks, similar practices or plans have arisen in several high-profile examples. Larian Studios’ boss vouched for it in some cases. Nexon’s former CEO said AI is about to rewrite everything in the games industry. Ubisoft announced it’s using an AI tool to help write its games in some instances. Even Hideo Kojima, often considered a unique voice in the industry, says he uses it at times. It’s being presented as not just helpful, but inevitable.
