Arc Raiders' Use of AI Voices Echoes The Finals Controversy

According to developer statements from the studio behind the title, Arc Raiders reportedly employ generative systems for producing some spoken content. This development strongly echoes the issue that emerged around the developer's 2023 hit, The Finals.

Game Overview

Released on October 30 for PS5, PC, and Xbox, Arc Raiders is marketed as a easier entry point to the loot-and-extract style. In contrast with complex games like Escape from Tarkov, it seeks to offer a more approachable gameplay. The game has mostly received strong ratings, maintaining a highly favorable reception on the popular platform based on over 8,000 user evaluations.

Development Approach

On the game's official Steam page, a clear disclosure regarding artificially created material invites parallels: Throughout creation, we might apply automated and generative systems to facilitate content creation. Regardless of method, the resulting game showcases the artistic expression of our development team."

Previous Controversy

The Finals, a successful online combat game known for its fluid combat and demolition-heavy maps, encountered backlash for its implementation of artificial intelligence prior to its full release. Throughout its public testing phase, the project's audio lead revealed in a online discussion that the company had used AI tools for producing voice content. This revelation generated instant negative reaction from industry talent and creative personnel, who stated that AI-generated voices were of reduced caliber compared to professional recordings and that such methods could eliminate acting roles.

Company Position

In response, the company clarified that they had contracted experienced voice actors to record original spoken content for The Finals, but expanded these with text-to-speech tools to produce supplementary content inspired by those initial performances. The company's explanation centered on the production efficiency obtained via this method.

Latest Developments

About Arc Raiders, the title's creative lead commented that the game "in no way uses generative AI in any form," though he declined to elaborate on the specific interpretation of the Steam disclosure. He did confirm, however, that the identical voice system used for The Finals was also utilized in Arc Raiders.

Our approach involves combination of professional actor recordings and material produced using TTS tools in our titles, according to the requirements," explained a studio representative. "Sometimes, capturing live performances where talent interacts — permitting actor relationships and conflict to influence the result — is something that provides substance to our game worlds that AI cannot replicate. For different situations, notably when it involves dynamic gameplay announcements, text-to-speech enables us to have personalized speech where we typically could not e.g. due to development pace."

Player Reactions

Early feedback to the incorporation of AI technology in Arc Raiders has been fairly varied, notably in the early days. A portion of the community have voiced significant concerns.

• Synthetic speech represents a flaw in an mostly outstanding experience," commented one user in a online discussion.
• I oppose that they implemented it in The Finals and feel regret to hear they repeated it for this game," added another.
• The result was instantly apparent in the vocal lines for one protagonist," observed a third player.

Nevertheless, some users have taken a more open-minded position.

• "Don't give a fuck, they compensated performers and used it well," stated one forum user.
• This demonstrates acceptable as it gets these days, sadly," added another.

The persistent discussion regarding AI implementation in game development appears set to persist as developers balance development pace with creative quality and responsible practices.