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According to newly revealed information from the game's developer, Arc Raiders reportedly employ artificial intelligence technology for producing some voice lines. This development closely resembles the issue that arose with the studio's 2023 hit, The Finals.

Release Details

Launched on October 30 for PS5, PC, and Xbox, Arc Raiders is marketed as a more accessible entry point to the loot-and-extract category. Compared to more hardcore titles like Escape from Tarkov, it seeks to offer a user-friendly experience. This release has generally earned favorable reviews, maintaining a highly favorable reception on Steam based on thousands of user evaluations.

Development Approach

Via the product's Steam page, a notice regarding "AI Generated Content" raises similarities: Throughout creation, we may employ procedural and AI-based technologies to facilitate asset production. In all cases, the final output reflects the creativity and vision of our development team."

Previous Controversy

The Finals, a successful multiplayer first-person shooter famous for its responsive controls and destructive environments, received negative feedback for its use of AI ahead of its official launch. During its pre-release trial, the game's audio designer disclosed in a online discussion that the company had leveraged artificial intelligence systems for producing vocal tracks. This statement generated instant criticism from voice actors and industry professionals, who argued that computer-created dialogue were of reduced caliber compared to professional recordings and that such practices could replace voice-acting jobs.

Developer Response

Reacting to feedback, the development team explained that they had contracted experienced performers to create initial voice lines for The Finals, but enhanced these with synthetic voice systems to create extra lines inspired by those original recordings. The company's explanation centered on the production efficiency gained from this approach.

Present Circumstances

Regarding Arc Raiders, the project's design head clarified that the title "in no way uses AI generation at all," though he did not provide details on the specific interpretation of the platform statement. He did confirm, however, that the same vocal technology implemented in The Finals was also applied in Arc Raiders.

Our approach involves blend of recorded voice audio and content created through synthetic voice systems in our releases, according to the requirements," explained a company spokesperson. In certain cases, recording real scenes where performers collaborate — allowing performance dynamics and conflict to influence the result — is something that contributes richness to our game worlds that technology can't emulate. In other instances, notably when it relates to real-time combat communications, synthetic voice permits us to have tailored VO where we could not such as due to development pace."

Community Response

Initial response to the implementation of automated systems in Arc Raiders has been fairly varied, especially during the launch window. A portion of the community have voiced significant concerns.

• Artificial intelligence dialogue is a stain on an generally excellent experience," stated one user in a community thread.
• I oppose that they implemented it in The Finals and am sad to hear they did it again for this release," commented another.
• The result was instantly apparent in the speech content for one protagonist," observed a third player.

Nevertheless, some users have adopted a more tolerant attitude.

• It doesn't bother me, they compensated performers and applied it appropriately," wrote one forum user.
• This demonstrates acceptable as it gets these days, unfortunately," concluded another.

The ongoing discussion regarding AI implementation in video game production appears set to endure as developers juggle development pace with artistic integrity and responsible practices.