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Per recent disclosures from the studio behind the title, Arc Raiders seems to make use of AI tools for creating certain voice lines. This revelation strongly echoes the issue that arose with the studio's 2023 hit, The Finals.

Release Details

Launched on the last day of October for PS5, Windows PC, and Microsoft's console, Arc Raiders is described as a more accessible introduction to the extraction shooter genre. In contrast with complex games like Escape from Tarkov, it seeks to offer a welcoming experience. The game has generally earned strong ratings, maintaining a excellent rating on Steam based on thousands of user evaluations.

AI Disclosure

On the game's official platform description, a specific statement regarding computer-assisted production invites parallels: In the production phase, we may employ procedural and AI-based tools to assist with content creation. Regardless of method, the resulting game reflects the artistic expression of our creative personnel."

Past Issue

The Finals, a popular multiplayer first-person shooter known for its smooth gunplay and dynamic battlefields, faced criticism for its implementation of artificial intelligence even before its full release. Throughout its public testing phase, the project's audio lead revealed in a podcast interview that the studio had used AI tools for developing dialogue lines. This statement generated instant negative reaction from industry talent and creative personnel, who argued that AI-generated voices were of notably lower quality compared to human performances and that such approaches could replace performance opportunities.

Company Position

Reacting to feedback, the company stated that they had contracted experienced talent to create initial spoken content for The Finals, but expanded these with text-to-speech tools to create extra material based on those original recordings. The developer's reasoning focused on the significant time savings achieved through this technique.

Current Situation

Concerning Arc Raiders, the game's design director recently stated that the game does not employ generative AI in any form," though he did not provide details on the specific interpretation of the store notice. He did acknowledge, however, that the equivalent speech tools implemented in The Finals was also utilized in Arc Raiders.

Our approach involves combination of professional actor recordings and material produced using synthetic voice systems in our titles, depending on the context," stated a development team member. For specific scenarios, recording real scenes where performers collaborate — permitting performance dynamics and drama to influence the result — is something that adds depth to our digital universes that AI cannot replicate. For different situations, especially when it involves real-time combat communications, text-to-speech enables us to have tailored VO where we otherwise wouldn't e.g. due to production timelines."

Player Reactions

Initial response to the use of generative tools in Arc Raiders has been relatively mixed, especially during the early days. Certain gamers have expressed strong opposition.

• Artificial intelligence dialogue is a flaw in an mostly outstanding game," wrote one player in a forum post.
• I dislike that they used it in The Finals and am disappointed to hear they employed it once more for this title," responded another.
• The result was instantly apparent in the speech content for one protagonist," observed a another gamer.

Nevertheless, other players have expressed a more open-minded position.

• I don't care, they compensated performers and applied it appropriately," commented one online participant.
• "This is as ethical as it is possible nowadays, I'm afraid," added another.

The continuing discussion regarding artificial intelligence use in interactive entertainment seems likely to continue as developers balance creative efficiency with artistic integrity and ethical considerations.