Saber CEO Karch Apologizes to Writer He Said He'd "Replace With AI"

Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch has issued an apology to Stella Sacco, the writer at the center of a week-long AI controversy tied to the game Rideshare Stimulator. The drama began when Karch publicly stated he would have "been happy to replace" Sacco with AI, sparking widespread backlash from the games industry and beyond. Kotaku reported that Karch eventually delivered a private apology to Sacco, apparently hoping to put an end to what many observers described as an embarrassing public meltdown. However, according to Destructoid, the apology was not without its own wrinkles: while Karch expressed remorse toward Sacco and the game's lead developer, he reportedly still managed to slip in a jab at a former Valve writer, drawing further criticism and raising questions about just how sincere the olive branch truly was.

Adding another layer to the fallout, Eurogamer noted that Saber Interactive quietly added an AI disclaimer to Rideshare Stimulator's Steam page amid the controversy, a move that suggested the studio was attempting to manage the damage on multiple fronts. The sequence of events highlights ongoing tensions in the games industry over the use of AI to replace human creative roles, particularly writers and narrative designers. Sacco, who served as a lead writer on the project, became an unwilling focal point of that broader debate after Karch's comments went public.

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