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Per developer statements from Embark Studios, Arc Raiders appears to make use of generative systems for generating certain voice lines. This revelation strongly echoes the debate that surrounded the studio's earlier release, The Finals.

Release Details

Debuted on October 30th for PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X, Arc Raiders is marketed as a easier on-ramp to the loot-and-extract style. Compared to more hardcore titles like Escape from Tarkov, it seeks to offer a user-friendly experience. The title has generally earned favorable reviews, maintaining a "very positive" reception on Steam based on numerous player reviews.

Technology Statement

Within the game's official Steam page, a clear disclosure regarding computer-assisted production raises similarities: "During development, we may employ procedural and AI-based systems to assist with content creation. Regardless of method, the resulting game reflects the creativity and vision of our development team."

Past Issue

The Finals, a popular competitive FPS known for its smooth gunplay and demolition-heavy maps, received negative feedback for its implementation of artificial intelligence ahead of its full release. Throughout its public testing phase, the project's audio lead revealed in a podcast interview that the company had leveraged generative technology for producing vocal tracks. This announcement triggered swift negative reaction from voice actors and game developers, who claimed that synthetic speech were of inferior standard compared to actor deliveries and that such practices could replace voice-acting jobs.

Company Position

Reacting to feedback, Embark Studios clarified that they had contracted experienced voice actors to create initial spoken content for The Finals, but enhanced these with TTS technology to create extra lines modeled after those original recordings. The developer's reasoning focused on the development speed achieved through this approach.

Current Situation

Regarding Arc Raiders, the game's design director clarified that the game "in no way uses generative AI whatsoever," though he did not provide details on the exact nature of the Steam disclosure. He did acknowledge, however, that the equivalent speech tools used for The Finals was also utilized in Arc Raiders.

We employ a mix of recorded voice audio and content created through TTS tools in our games, according to the situation," explained a development team member. For specific scenarios, capturing live performances where performers collaborate — allowing actor relationships and conflict to define the final product — is something that contributes richness to our virtual environments that technology can't emulate. Other times, especially when it concerns contextual in-game action call-outs, text-to-speech enables us to have tailored VO where we typically could not for example due to production timelines."

Community Response

Early feedback to the use of AI technology in Arc Raiders has been somewhat nuanced, particularly in the early days. Some players have expressed strong opposition.

• Synthetic speech represents a flaw in an generally excellent title," wrote one user in a online discussion.
• "I hate that they implemented it in The Finals and am sad to hear they repeated it for this release," commented another.
• The effect was immediately noticeable in the speech content for a specific character," noted a another gamer.

That said, different gamers have taken a more accepting position.

• It doesn't bother me, they hired talent and applied it appropriately," wrote one online participant.
• "This is as ethical as it is possible nowadays, I'm afraid," concluded another.

The ongoing debate surrounding artificial intelligence use in video game production seems likely to endure as companies balance production speed with creative quality and ethical considerations.