A public dispute between a former lead writer and the CEO of Saber Interactive has put the studio at the center of the gaming industry's ongoing debate over generative AI, transparency, and labor. As of August 13, Saber's CEO has confirmed the game will receive an AI label on Steam — a disclosure that did not appear on the page at launch.
- ▶Sources: IGN — CEO interview · Metro · GamesRadar — industry lawyer
The Game at the Center of It
Rideshare "Stimulator" is an upcoming driving sim developed by UNIGINE and published by Saber Interactive. Players run a rideshare business in a fictional city, transporting passengers with procedurally generated backstories and dialogue. The game was announced on July 30, 2026 for PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with no confirmed release date.
Rideshare "Stimulator" — Official Announcement Trailer (July 30, 2026)
Timeline of Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 2023 – July 2024 | Stella Sacco employed at Saber Interactive as lead writer (per LinkedIn) |
| December 2023 | Sacco posts on social media: "I got replaced on one of my games at work. By ChatGPT." |
| July 30, 2026 | Rideshare "Stimulator" officially announced; Saber and UNIGINE named as publisher and developer |
| August 11, 2026 | Sacco publicly identifies Rideshare Stimulator on Bluesky and claims she was replaced midway through development |
| August 12, 2026 | Saber issues statement to PC Gamer denying the claim; confirms Free Ride mode uses generative AI |
| August 12–13, 2026 | Steam forum for the game fills with complaints about the absence of an AI disclosure |
| August 13, 2026 | Saber CEO Matthew Karch confirms to IGN the Steam page will be updated with an AI label |
What Sacco Said
On August 11, former narrative designer Stella Sacco posted on Bluesky after seeing the announcement trailer for Rideshare Stimulator:
“"I didn't even see this had been announced. I was lead writer on this one! And Saber replaced me with ChatGPT midway through development. All the passenger voices were AI too. Either they changed direction at some point or they're not disclosing it on Steam." — Stella Sacco, Bluesky, August 11, 2026
Sacco's LinkedIn profile lists her employment at Saber Interactive as lead writer from July 2023 to July 2024. She clarified in follow-up posts that she had no issue with developer UNIGINE, and that the decision to replace her came from Saber's leadership. She alleged Saber wanted to use AI because, in her words, "gamers love new tech" and it would be "great marketing."
She also shared a December 2023 social media post in which she had written: "I got replaced on one of my games at work. By ChatGPT."
After Saber's public response, Sacco wrote:
“"Everything I said was true. Here's more truth: that statement is remarkably pathetic for the CEO of any company to be making, and combined with the AI use it will do far more damage to Saber's reputation than it ever could mine. This screed will be many people's first exposure to the Saber brand." — Stella Sacco, social media, August 13, 2026
What Saber Said
Saber issued a statement to PC Gamer on August 12:
“"Neither Saber nor Unigine have replaced any writers with AI for Rideshare or any other game. In fact, Saber's staff of writers has tripled since 2023. Rideshare's story was written entirely by real people. The game will also feature an experimental, free-ride mode that by necessity incorporates AI as the number of passengers in the game is infinite. We are firm believers in using AI tools to improve or enhance gameplay experiences and improve NPC behaviour as we have done since Saber was founded in 2001. As the industry has continued to contract, Saber continues to hire. None of our 3000+ employees have to worry about being replaced by AI."
CEO Matthew Karch spoke to IGN directly on August 13:
“"In Rideshare we added an unrelated experimental mode to the game to play around with these concepts. It's not the core experience. And even in this case it required us adding two writers and multiple coders to work with AI tools to try and get a reasonable result. Maybe we are bad at business but the net cost of incorporating these features was significantly higher than leaving them out." — Matthew Karch, IGN, August 13, 2026
Karch also confirmed the Steam page will be updated: "Once it's finalized we will update the Steam page."
The Disclosure Gap
At the center of the community backlash is not just the dispute over Sacco's departure, but the absence of any AI disclosure on the game's Steam page. Steam's current policy requires developers to disclose AI that is visible to players (in-game generated content), but does not require reporting of background tools used in production. Saber's confirmed use of AI in Free Ride mode — which generates passenger characters on the fly — would appear to fall under the visible-in-game category that requires disclosure.
Karch's August 13 confirmation that the label is forthcoming is an acknowledgment the page needed updating.
Broader Industry Context
Rideshare Stimulator is not the first game to generate controversy over AI use. Recent examples include:
- ▶1666: Amsterdam — Developer Patrice Désilets apologized in August 2026 after AI-generated paintings were spotted in the game's Steam demo, committing to remove all AI assets from the final product.
- ▶Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — AI was used for temporary assets that were accidentally left in the final release and later patched out.
- ▶Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis — Disclosed AI use in production, drawing criticism over asset ownership and copyright implications.
On the contracts side, corporate IP lawyer Haley MacLean told GamesRadar in August 2026 that anti-AI clauses have become standard boilerplate in indie-to-AA publishing agreements: "In this last year alone, it's gone from being in a decent chunk of agreements... to, 'The big guys are doing it. We should do it too.'" She cited both player sentiment and copyright uncertainty as drivers, and predicted litigation is coming: "I think we're going to see lawsuits."
Palworld comms lead John Buckley, speaking separately, framed the player side plainly: "Gamers don't want it."
Community Reaction
The Steam discussion forum for Rideshare Stimulator drew complaints calling for AI disclosure within hours of Sacco's post going viral. The criticism reflects a consistent pattern: players do not universally oppose AI in games, but react sharply when they believe it has been used without transparency — particularly when it affects credited creative contributors.
Karch's framing — that the AI features cost more than a conventional approach and were not meant as cost-cutting — runs counter to the assumption driving most public skepticism of generative AI in game development, but the argument was met with skepticism given the simultaneous denial and confirmation structure of Saber's initial statement.
GamePeak Wrap-Up
| Side | Position |
|---|---|
| Stella Sacco | Claims she was replaced by ChatGPT as lead writer; passenger voices also AI |
| Saber Interactive | Denies replacing writers with AI; confirms Free Ride mode uses generative AI for infinite NPCs |
| CEO Karch | Will add AI label to Steam page; frames AI features as more expensive, not cheaper, to implement |
| Steam policy | Requires disclosure of visible in-game AI; no requirement for background production tools |
| Industry trend | Anti-AI clauses now standard in indie/AA publishing contracts per legal experts |
The core facts that both sides agree on: Stella Sacco did work at Saber and departed in 2024; Rideshare Stimulator's Free Ride mode does use generative AI for passenger characters; the Steam page did not carry an AI disclosure at announcement. The dispute over why Sacco left, and whether that decision was AI-driven, remains unresolved. What is resolved is that the label is coming — and that it took a public controversy to get there.