The CEO of Saber Interactive has apologized to author Stella Sacco amid a dispute. At the same time, he criticizes an experienced gaming author in his statement.
Which CEO is it? Matt Karch is the head of Saber Interactive. The studio most recently developed titles like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Evil Dead: The Game.
A forthcoming project, which is likely Rideshare Stimulator, is troubled by an AI scandal. As we reported on MeinMMO, author Stella Sacco accuses Saber Interactive of having replaced her with AI, specifically ChatGPT.
The studio denied these allegations. In a statement to The Week in Videogames, Matt Karch also stated that he would have liked to replace Sacco with AI in hindsight, as AI would at least be honest.
The dispute now seems to be settled, as the author announced online that she received an apology from the CEO.
To a pleasant surprise…
What does Sacco say? On Bluesky, the author spoke up and explained that Matt Karch contacted her via email and apologized. He regrets that the situation escalated to this extent and that Sacco had to witness online discussions about her.
The author herself emphasizes that she is used to insults. However, something else bothers her more:
It was really frustrating that my skills and reputation, acquired over 20 years in the gaming industry, were publicly disparaged by someone with institutional power.
Stella Sacco
Sacco would accept the apology but does not change her negative stance towards the use of AI. Saber Interactive continues to rely on the tool, according to the studio, for NPC behavior.
Matt Karch then also spoke up in another statement on LinkedIn. There he reflects on the events and his own behavior. For many, leadership strength means not speaking from the heart. He writes that he has always felt that “silence is worse” – a reason why he intervened so vocally in the debate as CEO.
… follows a jab
However, Karch’s statement includes a jab at another person. Karch writes:
One should question the source of online comments. The digital ecosystem thrives on outrage and superficial assessments. A typical example: a 26-minute video essay by a failed author, who focused solely on analyzing a single sarcastic quote of mine and pretended to know exactly who I am.
Matt Karch
Karch does not name names, but the description fits suspiciously well with a new YouTube video by author Chet Faliszek, which is just over 26 minutes long and discusses the topic.
Faliszek is an author and responsible for the stories of numerous Valve titles such as Portal 1 & 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One & Two, or Left 4 Dead 1 & 2. The gaming veteran criticizes Karch’s behavior in his piece but does not hold back on mockery either.
His main statement remains: according to Faliszek, the matter was a PR disaster. Whether there will be another statement from Karch remains to be seen. What are your thoughts on the topic? Feel free to share them with us in the comments. The use of AI is controversial not only in games: Some find AI worse than Sauron, yet the next Middle-earth film does not want to do without it
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