ARC Raiders Boss Defends Controversial AI Usage

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Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund has reiterated his support for using AI in their popular game, ARC Raiders. In a recent interview, he clarified that the studio didn’t cut artist jobs to be replaced by AI. Instead, he encouraged players to consider how AI can help make games better and ultimately benefit them.

Despite controversy surrounding its AI implementation, Embark’s game ARC Raiders became a huge success in 2025. Released in October, the extraction shooter quickly gained popularity, reaching over 481,000 players on Steam at its peak and receiving positive feedback from both gamers and reviewers. Remarkably, it retained 91% of its player base even into 2026. Many predicted ARC Raiders would struggle, launching as it did between the highly anticipated Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. However, those established franchises haven’t impacted ARC Raiders‘s success. In fact, Battlefield 6 has seen a significant drop in players – losing 85% of its active users in just three months, while ARC Raiders continues to thrive.

Even though the game has been very successful, its development hasn’t been without issues. Before launch, ARC Raiders faced criticism for its use of AI. Some fans were upset that Embark Studios used a system that converts text to speech for certain parts of the game. Specifically, Embark trained an AI to mimic the voices of real voice actors. While the actors reportedly agreed to have their voices used and were compensated, the decision still drew some backlash. Using this AI technology allows Embark to create content faster than traditional voice recording. However, many feel there’s a noticeable difference between a natural, emotional human performance and an AI simply reading lines.

Embark CEO Defends Use of AI in ARC Raiders

In a recent GamesBeat interview, Embark CEO Patrick Söderlund explained how the company uses AI in games like ARC Raiders and The Finals. He clarified that AI isn’t being used to cut jobs or replace staff, including voice actors. Instead, Söderlund believes AI can be a valuable tool for developers and ultimately improve the experience for players, acknowledging that it’s a complex topic with a lot of discussion surrounding it.

The use of AI in ARC Raiders has been a topic of discussion within the game industry, and Helldivers 2 developer Shams Jorjani recently shared his thoughts. He sees two main perspectives: some companies, like Square Enix, are exploring AI to automate tasks like quality testing, while other developers worry AI could threaten their jobs and the creative process. While many oppose AI in games and other media, Embark Studios has taken the step of compensating the actors whose voices are used in the game, which Jorjani believes is a crucial consideration. He argues that finding a balance where people are fairly paid for their work is possible and important.

Whether you embrace it or not, artificial intelligence is now a significant part of video game development. While the game ARC Raiders only uses AI in a limited way, many other studios are starting to explore its potential. Recently, Activision, the company behind Call of Duty, had to address concerns that artwork in the upcoming Black Ops 7 was created using AI. They explained that they use AI tools, along with other digital technologies, to help their teams make the best possible games.

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2026-01-05 20:04