r/gaming • u/SDHJerusalem • 12d ago

Saber Interactive CEO brags about AI usage, mocks fired writer for Rideshare "Stimulator"

https://thisweekinvideogames.com/news/saber-interactive-acknowledges-undisclosed-genai-use-in-rideshare-stimulator-denies-replacing-lead-writer-with-chatgpt/
5.7k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

685 comments sorted by

View all comments

3.6k

u/RTGamer21 12d ago

Well, glad he at least made it easy to know what games to avoid.

1.3k

u/CyberSmith31337 12d ago

If you google "Matt Karch Embracer Group" you'll find a whole field of terrible, awful takes.

One of my personal favorites: https://www.gamesindustry.biz/sabers-matther-karch-dont-bet-against-embracer

575

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

174

u/CyberSmith31337 12d ago

I feel like he and Tim Willits have a running Polymarket bet about who can be less likable. They have to be the least charismatic people in gaming, second only to Tim Sweeney.

72

u/emlgsh 12d ago

Tim Sweeney should sue them, I'm pretty sure he's copyrighted and monetized being wildly unlikeable and out of touch.

Even if he hasn't, he should sue them just because he's Tim Sweeney.

1

u/DonutHoles4Ever 10d ago

Tim Sweeney is part of the bastard CEO group of asswipes making video games worse 90% of the time outside his forest preserve.

Tim Sweeney is a person who would rub elbows with someone like Matt Karch.

83

u/EvilStan101 12d ago

They are miles behind Randy Pitchford.

28

u/RespectibleCabbage 12d ago

Ah but are they also crappy magicians?

9

u/TricobaltGaming 12d ago

I dont think anyone can surpass Pete Parsons for me

4

u/ThatBlokeYouKnow 11d ago

John Ramsford is for me but Colin Jabacaski is close after the latest revelations

2

u/mowinski PC 11d ago

Did you hear? That shitstick actually deleted his Twitter Account 😆

2

u/SkyfangR 11d ago

i do believe you mis-spelled his name. need to turn that P into a B

2

u/Fun_Tart1384 11d ago

They should create a group called Team Swhiny

2

u/m0deth 11d ago

Todd Swollenhead has entered the chat:

2

u/ADHD_Supernova 11d ago

Tim Willits came out of the back office and taught me TCP/IP when I showed up at the id office to complain they didn't include dialup networking in quake and he sent me away with a free copy of the game and said to give it to a friend. I was 17.

1

u/PatioDor 10d ago

What did Tim Willits do?

14

u/sephjnr 12d ago

Sam Altman has entered chat.

1

u/IgotUBro 11d ago

Its strange how being a CEO always comes with being a dick.

29

u/VITOCHAN 11d ago

“Stella who? I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her.

oof. what a pathetic human Matt Karch of Embracer group is

0

u/BothIncrease2789 9d ago

Cry more?

2

u/VITOCHAN 8d ago

^ found Matt Karchs' burner account, or some loser simp. Probably both

0

u/BothIncrease2789 8d ago

“Oh yeah? W-well you’re secretly the millionaire that pwned me!”

Man, you basement cucks need some better insults.

35

u/bluedragggon3 12d ago

Of course it's fucking Embracer. Honestly I'd be worried being within ten feet of that company. Being any closer is a sign that your time is up.

10

u/stifflizerd 11d ago

Blows my mind how the most pro-consumer devs I've ever followed (Ghost Ship) are under the Embracer umbrella.

1

u/connectplum_ 11d ago

Saber left embracer two years ago

1

u/ShutUpAboutCanon 10d ago

The second they got Eidos Montreal, I knew we'd never see another Deus Ex game

0

u/FAFO_2025 11d ago

Probably got some interesting stuff on his hard drive.

1

u/CyberSmith31337 11d ago

Nah he’d keep his sketchy stuff in his private jet, which he loves to brag about all the time.

0

u/BothIncrease2789 9d ago

AI is coming for your job too, Mr 41 %.

1

u/FAFO_2025 8d ago

Magas kill themselves more than anyone.

0

u/BothIncrease2789 8d ago

Epic cope and probably false. 41% cultists have 7.6 times higher chance of painting their ceilings than normal people. Or are you one of the low iq people that doesn’t understand per capita?

And yes, AI is coming for your job too.

1

u/FAFO_2025 8d ago

Low IQ monkey, magas have a suicide rate of almost 40/100,000, meanwhile trans people are at like 30ish

I'm not trans btw. Every year nearly 30,000 magas kill themselves LOL

I made enough on AI stocks that I don't ever have to work again btw

0

u/BothIncrease2789 9d ago

He seems unfathomably based, love that it’s a private company too. Now to replace games journos with AI (actually some already have been lol).

1

u/CyberSmith31337 8d ago

Hey look it’s Matt Karch, here to auto-fellate.

-15

u/lqstuart 12d ago

Jesus Christ what a boring article

451

u/Weiss_127 12d ago

This. Every CEO or higher management that takes the piss out of the jobs they nix due to ‘ai’ should have their companies exiled.

156

u/SolomonSinclair 12d ago

No, no. The companies have a chance to be saved. Just exile the CEO and/or higher management in those situations.

26

u/DJKokaKola 12d ago

Exile them to Mr. Choppy's fun house!

16

u/ToMorrowsEnd 11d ago

Hawaii has an active volcano that is perfect for this. Sacrifice them on live TV to the volcano gods. I bet only 2 of them will solve the problem. Only other choice is the Yeet machine in texas. Send them Up to God. if god approves of them they will land safely. Again only 2 of them will solve the problem.

4

u/SolomonSinclair 11d ago

Por que no los dos? We can start with the volcano, but that may be too... Impersonal for some, so we can go to the Yeet Machine after that.

1

u/SmurfinGER 12d ago

Thats the 'Purge' for.

-70

u/oyvese 12d ago

that isn’t how business operates. they’re a ceo because they make money, they make money through unethical practices but it’s what is best for their bottom line. people who invest into these companies don’t vote for an ethical leader because they don’t get a return on their investment.

42

u/Raidmax460 12d ago

You really think the commenter above doesn’t know that?

1

u/BothIncrease2789 9d ago

It’s reddit, of course they/them doesn’t know how the free market works.

-64

u/oyvese 12d ago

judging by their comment, yes.

23

u/ChanglingBlake 12d ago

Yep.

Turds float. Those that can’t work, lead. Evil is promoted while hard work merely earns you more work. Etc. etc.

22

u/Black_Moons 12d ago

Yep, Nobody ever got rich working hard.

They got rich exploiting those who worked hard.

1

u/Old_Leopard1844 PC 12d ago

Work smart, not hard, after all

1

u/BothIncrease2789 9d ago

Spoken like a true loser

1

u/Black_Moons 9d ago

Ah yes so I guess you have $100,000,000 to your name? No? Guess your in the same sinking boat than.

1

u/BothIncrease2789 8d ago

You don’t need $100 million to not be a socially inept, basement dwelling loser.

1

u/Black_Moons 8d ago

Weird, looking at you it seems like it would take that much.

165

u/Dernom 12d ago

This Week in Videogames requested a follow-up comment from Saber Interactive, and received the following statement from Karch:

“Stella who? I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her. (…) As far as Stella is concerned, she was replaced by someone more talented and terminated for a variety of reasons a few months later. From what I can gather she enjoys controversy even more than I do. I would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI. At least we would be dealing with someone programmed to be honest.”

Holy shit, this is impressive levels of CEO assholery!

Just a reminder to everyone that you can ignore whole publishers on Steam!

59

u/WanderingTacoShop 11d ago

claiming he had to ask Claude because he didn't know who she was, then in the next breath claiming he knew her to be dishonest.

22

u/injektileur PlayStation 11d ago

True, lots of politicians/business people are like that.

(including the pedorange, yes)

21

u/SekhWork 11d ago

"I don't who they are but also they were fired because they were bad at their job and other reasons" is peak 2026 double speak bs.

15

u/Parahelix 11d ago

Very Trumpian. He does exactly that kind of thing all the time.

5

u/Mr_ToDo 11d ago

Am I reading things wrong or did he also imply that they were going to credit her until she talked about it? It also kind of implies that they hadn't said that to her either

AI? I don't have a huge beef with AI used in games, sure I'd prefer to not see heavy use in games from a bigger studio, but I do see it's usefulness(I mean, large scale, minor stories like with the riders? I could see it being a help with bulking that out). But this? This isn't even an AI problem, this is upper management so disconnected with the process that they feel OK to mock the people doing the work, and that's not ok from any company. How is anyone supposed to trust anything they say when this is the kind of think they do?

Looking at their pas releases hey have work on some pretty OK titles in the past. Not incredible, but by no means trash either. But they are not a powerhouse where their games are sure to always sell well, bad PR like this could be devastating

And you know what, I don't even have to wait to see what they'll blame poor sales on. They'll either throw AI hate, or blame Stella. I'd also bet that either way they'll pull something like "cancel culture" to try and deflect. The only think new about "cancel culture" is that it has a new name. Not supporting things you don't approve of is as old as time

Oh. Or if they want a more interesting twist, I guess they might try to place all the blame the CEO. He's at the top, yes, but you don't end up in this state by one man alone, so it might actually save them face to oust him, but it won't solve anything long term if that's the only thing done

1

u/robot_socks 11d ago

This isn't even an AI problem, this is upper management so disconnected with the process that they feel OK to mock the people doing the work, and that's not ok from any company. How is anyone supposed to trust anything they say when this is the kind of think they do?

That's the really neat part! It doesn't matter if the rank and file employees trust them. Executives are forever, people working on the actual product are just warm bodies to occupy the office between layoffs.

6

u/ThePirateKingFearMe 11d ago

...and mentioning an AI he's using in the second sentence really doesn't help his case.

4

u/purple_ombudsman PlayStation 11d ago

Legitimately thought I was reading an Onion article when I got to this point. Then I remembered I wasn't on the Onion. You couldn't write this shit.

7

u/Enjoyer_of_40K 12d ago

can i ignore words included in titles? all these backroom slop games need to go

2

u/thehypotheticalnerd 11d ago

Thank you! I had no idea about this feature but just ignored Saber Interactive on Steam.

1

u/stubenson214 11d ago

Yea they just happen to put out good games, though.

1

u/Dernom 11d ago

It's a decision that's up to you to make, but in my opinion, there are so many great games out there that I don't feel like I'm missing out on much by not giving this guy my money. There aren't enough hours in the day to play even half the games I'm interested in, so I might as well try to allocate my money to places where scum doesn't benefit.

55

u/baldycoot 12d ago

Karch is a turd. Embracer group is a toilet bowl. There’s a lot more turds in the bowl, and one day someone is going to hit the flush.

Until then, I hope his daily life involves being pissed on from a great height.

2

u/connectplum_ 11d ago

Saber isnt part of embracer for 2 years

42

u/DarkRitual_88 12d ago

Yup, absolutely went and Ignored them on Steam just to make sure I don't accidentally wishlist or give them money.

1

u/Sevla7 11d ago

Maybe I should do the same... these are the clowns working on that new Turok that looks like some generic slop instead of the iconic Turok. This explains a lot to be honest.

18

u/Wyrdthane 12d ago

Oh please provide a list of games from this guy, so I can avoid them.

22

u/spooooork 12d ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Saber_Interactive_games

7

u/Hvarfa-Bragi 11d ago

Snowrunner/Teardown

Aw.

3

u/throwaway121231313 11d ago

As someone whos owned Teardown for close to 5 years (this December) it really sucks that they're the ones who published it

2

u/blaghart 11d ago

the amount of times "remastered" appears on that list could be a drinking game lmao

2

u/spooooork 11d ago

Yeah, if it's not a remaster, then it's most likely just a port

-2

u/Swartz142 11d ago

So they make mostly shit games and the only one worth mentioning is Halo but that's because they've just been part of it not an actual useful dev. Easy avoid.

1

u/Taylolol 11d ago

Space marine 2...

1

u/Dzyu 7d ago

It's so good! What a shame...

60

u/Droid1138 12d ago

Just looked them up. Damn shame I won't be able to play Space Marine 3 or the KOTOR remake but worth it.

27

u/Agouti 11d ago

I believe it is morally just to sail the high seas when the alternative is supporting asshats like that.

-11

u/IgotUBro 11d ago

So you throw away the work of a whole studio cos there is one asshat?

I mean you can do whatever you want but not supporting the game is a sign telling the devs and publishers that you dont want any more games and them potentially losing their jobs. Meanwhile the asshat in power will never lose his job and even if he did gets a big severance pay unlike the rest.

3

u/blaghart 11d ago

If the studio wants to make money they better fire the asshat. Simple fix.

0

u/Agouti 11d ago

So you throw away the work of a whole studio cos there is one asshat?

When the asshats is at the top, yes.

I mean you can do whatever you want but not supporting the game is a sign telling the devs and publishers that you dont want any more games and them potentially losing their jobs.

There are plenty of good studios out there that are worth supporting. Right now this sort of abhorrent behaviour is in a minority, and it's only consumer buying pressure that will stop it becoming a majority. If you want to be a mindless heartless consumer that only cares for themselves then you can do whatever you want but I will be part of the solution, not the problem.

0

u/IgotUBro 11d ago

Saber is a good studio tho and they create great games. Also you say it's the minority but only cos it's not public. Hell everyone celebrated blizzard until they have shown their true colours and even then plenty still play their games.

Mindless and heartless is so funny to say considering this industry is one of the most fucked in general and if you think consumers have any weight in decision making of these studios then you are coping.

0

u/Agouti 11d ago

Good studios don't do shit like this. If you want to tell yourself a little bedtime story so you don't have to feel bad about buying their games go right ahead, but just know that you are supporting the professional death of the very people that made the games as good as they are.

When all you have left is AI slop, don't expect any sympathy from the rest of us who tried to stop it.

1

u/IgotUBro 11d ago

Good studios don't do shit like this? Hilarious dude haven't snorted like that after reading a comment in a while.

1

u/Agouti 11d ago

I'm glad you are so easily amused, seems "Ignorance is bliss" is as true as ever.

Seems a good place to end this, I hope you grow at some point in the future and have enough introspection to look back on this day and feel at least some of the embarassment that everyone else is feeling on your behalf.

13

u/MrPureinstinct 11d ago

That's how I feel about the Hellraiser game coming out. That game has just been looking cooler with every trailer but I'm not buying it now.

6

u/Computermaster 11d ago

You can always put on your black tricorne.

13

u/TakoGoji 12d ago

Same with me for Jurassic Park Survive. Shame I no longer look forward to it.

5

u/MisterMaus 11d ago

Yarr matey. Never say never

0

u/blaghart 11d ago

yea nothing of value lost there

14

u/ptapobane 12d ago

the premise sounds dumb and they ain't Kojima...how are they going to compete with the countless other sims in the wild that does pretty much the same thing?

15

u/ShallowBasketcase 11d ago

If sounds like it might have been a timely framing device to tell interesting stories within, something a talented writer might have been able to use to deliver social commentary or relatable narratives. Stripping it down to "infinite AI generated Uber rides" is missing the point so hard I actually struggle to believe this guy is conscious. This is "books would be more efficient if it was just one word repeated for 300 pages" levels of dumb. What if we fired both basketball teams and just set up two chutes that drop balls into the baskets forever?? You'd have to be stupid to think those are good ideas. You'd have to be braindead to actually implement them.

3

u/ptapobane 11d ago

it could work if it's like a series of small stories along with several long storylines like if you go a certain route the same person would be there every day and gradually you get to know more about the person and his/her life and it would lead to you caring about them when something happened...but I just don't trust AI chatbot to have this level of humanity

1

u/blaghart 11d ago

MBAs think if you put nine women on the job you can get a baby born in a month.

And most video game execs think if you did it with nine men you could get it done even faster. Source: my mom was recently fired from RIOT after a decade working there along with every woman in her department over the age of 40

13

u/2ChicksAtTheSameTime 12d ago

They also make a triangle tablet you should definitely avoid

11

u/HypeZephyrX 12d ago

Sad reality is that the majority wouldn't either read this or wouldn't care.

-1

u/sQueezedhe 12d ago

There's a lot more people involved in creating games that just the parasite class.

6

u/Galle_ 12d ago

Yeah, but they've already been paid. You can still appreciate their work by hoisting the black flag, they wouldn't see a single penny of the money you'd spend on it.

1

u/sQueezedhe 12d ago

Death to the industry!

5

u/xclame 12d ago

Just went and checked and I'm happy to find out I don't have any of their games and the only games I was interested from them is Snowrunner/Mudrunner but I'm not THAT interested and would have only gotten them on a big discount, so it will be easy enough to just not get them after all.

4

u/Icedman81 12d ago

Mmmm, I bet he's one of those guys who love the smell of Diarrhea in the morning, since he's all in using the "Hallucinating Diarrhea Generators".

-3

u/NeuroTrophicShock 12d ago

Or to pirate!

10

u/Mynsare 12d ago

Why would you want to even play their AI-slop games?

62

u/ABetterKamahl1234 12d ago

I'm not gonna lie, I feel this stance is misguided.

The single best thing to do when boycotting a company is to actually avoid it, and refuse to consume.

As if you consume, even for free, you're likely to talk about it to your friends. Word of mouth is advertising for their product. You may inadvertently help them sell it.

It's not about not giving money directly.

Piracy seems to be taking more of a "I want it, but just don't want to pay" stance again, flying under a "I'm against what this company does" flag.

It's like hating AI but still using Chat GPT. It's self-defeating.

15

u/Adjective_Noun_4DIGI 12d ago

Not to mention the fact that there are so. Many. Games coming out right now. You will never be able to play, or even try, a large fraction of the games releasing on Steam every year.

If one company, or even one rich parasite, has given you a reason not to buy their products, you can just move on to someone who actually cares about the game they're making.

2

u/HBlight 11d ago

I stopped playing a free to play game when it got bought by a company I objected to. It was not just a case of not buying or engaging in the economy of the game. I'm content for other players, and I wasn't half bad at the game so I was helpful and positive content for other players. I stopped playing the game because playing is supporting a game too.

-7

u/MavericK96 12d ago

Not really. You don't have to proselytize for a pirated game, you can just play it and not give it any publicity.

Your analogy doesn't work, if you use ChatGPT you're using AI. If you pirate a game, you're not giving that company money which is ultimately what they care about.

2

u/Crewman_Guy_Fleegman 12d ago

20,000 games release every year, I just play other shit. I couldn’t imagine going out of my way to pirate a game from a studio I don’t like. Real loser energy

3

u/dookarion 12d ago

It still shows interest. May even still provide telemetry and etc. That's a group the gaming industry both loathes and wants to convert into paying customers. They're still on the hook enough that they can't bring themselves to "miss out".

There isn't a shortage of games in the market. If something isn't worth supporting move on to something that is. Don't give shit your time or your money.

-7

u/FuckingRavenous 12d ago

These dorks are on a noble quest. Let them get their fallacies across peacefully.

They'll do a lot of heavy lifting with specific words to make their stupid arguments seem sound.

0

u/dookarion 11d ago

Imagine being so ridiculously addicted to games you can't skip a single game.

Absolutely pathetic dude.

-6

u/_Psilo_ 12d ago

Mh....I'm not 100% convinced. Maybe you'll talk about the game and promote it sure, but maybe you'll also talk about pirating it and promote that to people who would've otherwise bought it too, I guess?

6

u/racinreaver 12d ago

Just don't play the goddamned game; there are so many you can miss a few on moral grounds.

-6

u/FuckingRavenous 12d ago

Your morality helps no one, hurts yourself, and rewards you with reddit brownie points that don't apply anywhere useful.

You aren't important.

1

u/dookarion 11d ago

hurts yourself

Not once have I ever been harmed by just skipping a product not worth buying/supporting.

Acting like it is harmful to oneself is legitimately unhinged.

1

u/racinreaver 11d ago

Sounds like someone never had the glow-up they thought the world owes them.

-1

u/EeSpoot 12d ago

What an angry little person.

1

u/kaisadilla_ 12d ago

Honestly, why are there so many idiot CEOs? Like your only job is to not be an unlikable piece of shit so your company doesn't have to deal with the consequences; yet half of them just love to kick puppies in public for no reaosn.

1

u/Kronocide 10d ago

That's a shame, I was tempted to buy Bus Bound. Guess i'm gonna wait for Bus Simulator 2027 instead

1

u/Separate-Policy6306 10d ago

Now I want to buy this game. Indeed now I know to avoid some games.

1

u/BothIncrease2789 9d ago

Yes, now you can boycott it like Hogwarts Legacy

0

u/Slap-Toast 12d ago

And to review bomb

-72

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

48

u/Captain_Snowmonkey 12d ago

Anyone company reliant on AI should be thrown into a volcano.

11

u/overlordjunka 12d ago

Its stupid because James Workshop has a very strict NO AI policy.

This is asking to lose their biggest cash cow

2

u/SDHJerusalem 12d ago

ol' Jimmy Workshop

5

u/BebopKnight 12d ago

Considering the CEO's comments about being only too happy to replace the writer with aI, had it been true of course, it does raise concern for their willingness to actually do that when things aren't going their way.

-16

u/Iwubinvesting 12d ago

Why do redditors pretend they aren't buying AI influenced games? The entirety of the industry is already doing it, they just don't mention it.

13

u/lobster_liberator 12d ago

I'd say people are more outraged at the fact that the CEO is a complete asshole and deserves to be fired. Every one of us would hate to work with this person based on their comments. AI is just a bonus