Saber Interactive will add an AI label to the upcoming driving sim Rideshare Stimulator’s Steam store page after days of criticism over undisclosed generative features. The move comes as the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 studio tries to tamp down a growing backlash sparked by former lead writer Stella Sacco’s claims that she was replaced by ChatGPT during development. CEO Matthew Karch now says the label will appear once the team has finalized exactly how AI is used in the game.
Sacco first raised the alarm on social media, saying she had served as lead writer on Rideshare Stimulator before being removed from the project in late 2023 with the intent to swap her role for AI tools like ChatGPT. She also alleged that all passenger voices in the taxi sim are generated with AI, and that generative systems were involved throughout her time on the game for both dialogue and voice work. Early coverage from outlets such as Notebookcheck and GamesRadar+ amplified those accusations, pointing out that Steam’s store page for the game lacked any mention of AI despite these reported uses.
Saber Interactive and Matthew Karch have repeatedly pushed back on Sacco’s account, issuing statements to PC Gamer and other outlets insisting that no writers on Rideshare Stimulator—or any other Saber project—have been replaced by AI. The company says its writing staff has actually tripled since 2023 and that the game’s narrative was written entirely by human authors. Instead, Karch frames the use of generative systems as confined to an experimental Free Ride mode designed to support an effectively infinite number of passengers, where AI-powered speech and text help generate varied interactions on the fly. He characterizes these tools as a way to enhance player experience rather than cut staff, arguing that integrating them has been more expensive than leaving them out.
Despite those assurances, the dispute quickly spilled into Rideshare Stimulator’s Steam community, where threads filled up with players demanding an explicit disclosure of generative content and clearer communication about how AI touches the game. Valve’s current rules require developers to flag visible or in-game AI usage on Steam, even though they do not mandate disclosure of back-end development tools, making the absence of an AI tag on Rideshare Stimulator stand out to critics. Until Karch’s latest comments, the store page reportedly did not carry any such label, even as Saber openly acknowledged AI systems in the experimental mode.
Karch has also adopted a combative tone toward Sacco personally, telling outlets that she was replaced by “someone more talented” and suggesting the controversy is a publicity stunt that inadvertently boosted awareness of a relatively small project. Sacco, in turn, has called the CEO’s remarks “pathetic” for a major company leader and argued that both the comments and the reliance on generative tools will ultimately damage Saber’s brand more than her own. Their back-and-forth has turned Rideshare Stimulator into a flashpoint in the broader debate over how far studios should go with AI, and how transparent they need to be with players and staff when experimenting with these systems.
Rideshare Stimulator itself is being developed with Russian studio Unigine, best known for its graphics engine and tech demos, adding another layer of interest for PC simulation fans watching how the final game blends traditional design with procedural passenger behavior. With Saber now publicly committing to an AI label on Steam and reiterating that its core story is authored by people, attention will turn to whether that transparency calms fears—or whether players treat Rideshare Stimulator as an early test case for acceptable AI use in narrative-heavy games.
