What happened

Developer Embark Studios' multiplayer game, ARC Raiders, came under intense scrutiny for its use of AI-generated voices. 

Specifically, the studio confirmed it used AI-based Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology for in-game voice lines, such as player "ping" callouts (identifying enemies, items, or locations) and the dialogue for non-player characters (NPCs) like traders/vendors, particularly in the game's hub, Speranza. 

The initial backlash largely followed a highly critical review published in November 2025 that penalised the game for its AI use.

The studio asserted that this technology was not fully generative AI but rather an AI TTS system trained on the voices of contracted voice actors who were paid for the initial use of their voice likeness. 

Despite this clarification, many players and critics, voiced strong opposition to what they saw as the sometimes "soulless" delivery and "weird inflections" of the AI voices - a reflection of poor artistic integrity.

The studio also came under fire for bypassing human actors for repeat recording sessions, threatening future work and job security for voice actors.

Why it happened

Embark framed the decision as a "studio strategy" and a "production solution" aimed at maximising output while remaining a small team, enabling them to create "rich worlds" and rapidly generate new dialogue for continuous game updates (like new ping callouts for enemies or items). This points to an effort to cut down on production costs and increase development speed by replacing the necessity of repeatedly recalling and paying human actors for new lines.

The controversy highlights significant transparency and accountability limitations in the rapidly evolving space of game development:

• Contractual opacity: While Embark stated the actors consented and were paid, the long-term contracts regarding the ownership and perpetual use of their voice likenesses for future, potentially unlimited, AI-generated lines remain opaque, raising questions about whether actors are adequately compensated for essentially trading long-term work for a single up-front fee.

• Industry precedent: This incident followed similar controversy over Embark’s previous game, The Finals, indicating a deliberate, corporate-level decision to integrate AI into their pipeline, suggesting a wider industry move towards cost-cutting over creative employment. The studio's owner, Nexon, even suggested people should assume "every game company is now using AI," pointing to a normalization of the practice without full transparency.