It’s an interesting time in the gaming world. Everyone seems to be jumping on the AI bandwagon, including Embark Studios, the developers behind the new shooter, Arc Raiders. They’ve openly embraced AI text-to-speech (TTS) technology in their game’s dialogue. While this has sparked some debate among fans, the studio’s owner, Nexon, appears unfazed. CEO Junghun Lee, in a recent interview with Game*Spark, remarked that “it’s important to assume that every game company is now using AI.”
Stefan Strandberg, co-founder of Embark, echoed this sentiment in a chat with GamesRadar+. He referred to the use of TTS in Arc Raiders as a “studio strategy.” But both Lee and Strandberg stressed that while AI can be a powerful tool, it’s the human creativity that truly makes it effective.
Lee posed an interesting question: “If everyone is working with the same or similar technologies, the real question becomes: how do you survive?” He believes businesses need to adopt strategies that enhance their competitiveness—something he considers best achieved through “human creativity.”
Understanding the Role of AI in Gaming
In a recent discussion, Strandberg stated that there’s something uniquely magical about having real actors contribute to the game’s lore and world. In Arc Raiders, TTS is combined with voice recordings from human actors, much like Embark’s previous free-to-play title, The Finals. “There’s no end goal in replacing any actors,” he emphasized.
Fans of The Finals and Arc Raiders seem divided on the significance of this approach. Nonetheless, the controversy hasn’t hindered Embark from hitting a remarkable milestone of 700,000 concurrent players across all platforms.
As for the studio’s lead? He’s adamant that games “can’t be built by an AI,” and adds, “I hope they never can.” But there’s also an eagerness to speed up content production—AI might just help make that happen.