Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch has become an easy punching bag in recent days. A dizzying array of statements, pushbacks and advances followed regarding the use of AI in the upcoming Rideshare “Simulator” game. While this type of flame coming from the higher-ups has become increasingly common on the World Wide Web, the vicious cycle will hopefully come to a merciful end when Karch apologizes to the game’s former writer, who she said was fired in favor of the AI. “Last night, much to my surprise, I received a long email from Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch,” writer Stella Sacco posted. “He apologized unreservedly for the terrible way he spoke about me in the press. The full text of the email will remain between us… I have been adamant from the beginning that he was telling the truth; I think we can all now agree that that has been confirmed. Matt expressed his desire to make things right with me; at this point I don’t really know what that will look like for me, and I will have to take some time to think about it, but I at least accept his apology.” The failures began after the Rideshare “Simulator” ad trailer. While the video attacks Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford, it would soon be Saber’s own CEO defending himself from the blows. Sacco, the game’s former lead writer, posted that the company replaced it with ChatGPT and would not reveal it on the Steam page. What followed was a barrage of statements. First, a boilerplate denial from Sabre, but then a strange, snarky rebuttal straight from Karch, stating that they intended to add the Steam disclaimer after “finalizing the feature set”, sprinkling some flat riffs throughout. “Estela, who?” Karch wrote. “I had to ask Claude because I never talked to her or saw her.” Giant Bomb performed a dramatic reading of the rant. Saber updated the Steam page to include an AI disclaimer, revealing that much of its voiceovers, music, and mission dialogue have been generated outside of the campaign. Sacco held his ground, while Karch’s collapse began to overshadow the game itself. And for that, probably for the better, Karch has chosen to apologize. “Apologies are too rare these days to refuse when they are offered,” Sacco wrote. “God willing, this is the last statement I will have to make on this.”
