Following the October launch of its extraction shooter Arc Raiders, which peaked at nearly half a million players on Steam, Embark Studios has re-recorded some text-to-speech AI-generated voice lines using professional actors in response to player criticism over immersion. CEO Patrick Söderlund acknowledged that 'a real professional actor is better than AI' and emphasized AI's role as a production tool rather than a replacement for humans.
Arc Raiders drew praise for its successful launch but faced backlash for using AI text-to-speech voices on less essential content, such as ping system audio, which players felt detracted from immersion. The studio had licensed voices from paid actors for the AI system and confirmed no generative AI was used for visuals or the core game experience. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Söderlund explained that AI enabled efficient internal testing, like generating 15 variations of lines without full recordings. Responding to feedback, Embark re-recorded some lines post-launch with professional voice actors, paying them for booth time and planning to involve them in future updates. Earlier, in October, chief creative officer Stefan Strandberg told Eurogamer that AI tools like text-to-speech assist in repetitive, low-value content creation 'in the context of creativity,' without replacing human expression. Söderlund reiterated, 'We don't necessarily believe in replacing humans with AI all the time.' Separately, Embark addressed a Discord integration hotfix for local storage of private messages, following updated SDK guidance.
