Arc Raiders was one of the most successful games of 2025, but it was also criticized for its use of AI-based text-to-speech systems. Patrick Söderlund, the head of Arc Raiders studio Embark, has now shed more light on the situation, saying the studio's goal in implementing AI into its development processes is to make better games more efficiently.
He also pushed back against the idea that using AI systems in game development would lead to lower employment at Embark.
"We don't use AI to not have to hire people or replace people or job groups or voice actors," Söderlund told GamesBeat. "People have to take a step back and understand what it is and how it can be a big help to developers and be a tremendous benefit to players. I realize it is an intricate subject and discussion."
For Arc Raiders, Embark hired actors to record voice lines that were then put into a generative text-to-speech system that allowed game characters to speak in the actors' voices while addressing many different possible circumstances that could happen in the game. The human actors themselves didn't need to come back to the studio to record new lines, as the AI-based system created them.
Arc Raiders using such a system wasn't a surprise to everyone, as Embark's last game, The Finals, used a similar text-to-speech program. Arc Raiders was a much bigger success than The Finals, though, prompting another voice actor to call upon Embark to bring the actors back to the studio.
"If you're going to not record the lines in the first place and just use AI to take somebody's voice and manipulate it however the hell you want, that's a problem," actor Neil Newbon said.
Shams Jorjani, the CEO of Helldivers studio Arrowhead, implored people to consider the nuance and perspective of the matter.
Jorjani said he's observed that people tend to "jump to extreme takes," but in the case of how Arc Raiders implements AI, he said, "It's a very interesting use case that actually makes gaming better."
Embark has on multiple occasions already defended its choice to use AI systems, stating that "making games without actors isn't an end goal" and a combination of recorded voice audio and audio generated via TTS tools merely expedited the process.
Arc Raiders launched between Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and the $40 game had an enormous debut. It's also enjoyed sustained popularity, remaining in Steam's most-played charts months after launch. In fact, its 24-hour peak concurrent figure of 466,372 is just about 3% off the game's all-time peak of 481,966 players on Steam.
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He also pushed back against the idea that using AI systems in game development would lead to lower employment at Embark.
"We don't use AI to not have to hire people or replace people or job groups or voice actors," Söderlund told GamesBeat. "People have to take a step back and understand what it is and how it can be a big help to developers and be a tremendous benefit to players. I realize it is an intricate subject and discussion."
For Arc Raiders, Embark hired actors to record voice lines that were then put into a generative text-to-speech system that allowed game characters to speak in the actors' voices while addressing many different possible circumstances that could happen in the game. The human actors themselves didn't need to come back to the studio to record new lines, as the AI-based system created them.
Arc Raiders using such a system wasn't a surprise to everyone, as Embark's last game, The Finals, used a similar text-to-speech program. Arc Raiders was a much bigger success than The Finals, though, prompting another voice actor to call upon Embark to bring the actors back to the studio.
"If you're going to not record the lines in the first place and just use AI to take somebody's voice and manipulate it however the hell you want, that's a problem," actor Neil Newbon said.
Shams Jorjani, the CEO of Helldivers studio Arrowhead, implored people to consider the nuance and perspective of the matter.
Jorjani said he's observed that people tend to "jump to extreme takes," but in the case of how Arc Raiders implements AI, he said, "It's a very interesting use case that actually makes gaming better."
Embark has on multiple occasions already defended its choice to use AI systems, stating that "making games without actors isn't an end goal" and a combination of recorded voice audio and audio generated via TTS tools merely expedited the process.
Arc Raiders launched between Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, and the $40 game had an enormous debut. It's also enjoyed sustained popularity, remaining in Steam's most-played charts months after launch. In fact, its 24-hour peak concurrent figure of 466,372 is just about 3% off the game's all-time peak of 481,966 players on Steam.
Source