Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund has once again defended the use of AI in the studio's smash hit extraction shooter. ARC Raiders. In a new interview, executives explained how Embark has not shied away from hiring artists. ARC Raiders Replacing it with AI urged fans to “take a step back” and understand how the use of AI could actually help game development and be a “huge advantage for players.”
Controversial Use of AI ARC Raiders That didn't stop Embark's second title from being a huge hit in 2025. The extraction shooter took the gaming world by storm when it launched in October, amassing over 481,000 concurrent players on Steam, receiving rave reviews from players and critics alike, and even retaining 91% of its player base through 2026. believed ARC Raiders It was doomed to fail because of the release date. Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7Neither of the two powers seemed to have embarrassed Embark. while ARC Raiders The same can't be said for this one, although it has retained a significant portion of its player base. Battlefield 6We lost 85% of our active users in just 3 months.
ARC Raiders Kick Off 2026 with New Trial Challenge Set
ARC Raiders developer Embark Studios is kicking off 2026 with a new set of Trial Challenges for players to complete and earn new rewards.
Despite its massive success, it hasn't been all smooth sailing for the shooter. Even before it was released, ARC Raiders The use of AI sparked controversy, with fans accusing Embark of implementing a text-to-speech system in certain sections of the game. More specifically, Embark trained its AI system to replicate the dialogue of real voice actors. These actors reportedly fully agreed and paid to have their voices used in the system, but not everyone was pleased with this decision. Of course, Embark's text-to-speech AI capabilities allow you to produce content much faster than what's needed to schedule a recording session with an actor. But there is a clear difference between a human voice driven by emotion and an AI system that simply regurgitates written lines.
Embark CEO defends AI use in ARC Raiders
In a recent interview with GamesBeat, Embark CEO Patrick Söderlund defended Embark's use of AI. ARC RaidersAlso used in the first title. final. “We don’t use AI so that we don’t have to hire people or replace people, job groups or voice actors,” Söderlund said. “People need to take a step back and understand what it is and how it can be a huge help to developers and a huge benefit to players. I realize this is a complex topic and discussion.”
This isn't the first time something like that has happened. ARC RaidersAt the end of last year, Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani also weighed in on this controversy, and the use of AI has been discussed in the industry. that Helldiver 2 Developers believe this comes down to two different ways of thinking. On the one hand, companies like Square Enix are planning to automate 70% of quality assurance testing, while on the other hand, there are “developers who feel that their livelihood…their very existence is being threatened and therefore all AI is bad AI.” Although many are adamantly opposed to the use of AI in video games and various other media, Embark has paid actors for the use of their voices, and Jorjani believes this is important. “Let’s make sure people get paid for their work. There’s definitely a middle ground here,” the CEO said.
Whether you hate it, love it, or have no opinion, it's undeniable that AI is here to stay and will be a big factor in video game development going forward. while ARC RaidersTheir use of generative AI is relatively small, and they are not the only studios using these systems. call of duty Publisher Activision recently had to respond to AI accusations. black ops 7This is the latest entry in the series. After fans noticed that certain in-game artwork appeared to be AI-generated, the studio said it was “using a variety of digital tools, including AI tools, to support and assist our teams in creating the best gaming experience possible.”
- released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Youth/Violence, Blood
