In a surprising development, human performers have assumed roles previously held by artificial intelligence. Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund shared with GamesIndustry.biz that the studio substituted AI-created dialogue with human vocals in their successful title ARC Raiders, following its triumphant October debut.

This decision stemmed from a focus on quality, with Söderlund noting that professional voice actors deliver something AI cannot replicate: “There is a quality difference. A real professional actor is better than AI; that’s just how it is.”

Despite ARC Raiders’ achievements on Steam, boasting 14 million sales in February and over 6 million monthly active users, the game’s text-to-speech function has faced criticism for detracting from immersion. In response, the developers have opted to “upgrade” significant dialogue segments using paid voice actors, although there are no intentions to replace all AI-created voice material.

Embark Studios made it clear that while AI was involved in dialogue creation, no generative AI played a role in the game’s praised visuals.

Critics of AI raise concerns about job losses and threats to artistic authenticity, while advocates highlight the financial advantages that could enhance individual creativity. The discussion regarding AI’s involvement in gaming is poised to persist as its application expands.