Embark CEO says some Arc Raiders AI lines were re-recorded by human voices post-launch

Arc Raiders launched last fall to generally positive reception, though it drew some criticism over its use of AI-generated voice acting, a similar controversy to what Embark Studios faced with their earlier game, The Finals. In a recent GameIndustry.biz interview, Embark's studio head Patrick Söderlund noted that Arc Raiders has since reduced the number of AI voice lines in the game, and framed AI more broadly as a tool that aids the development process.

Arc Raiders has fewer AI voice lines than at launch, its studio head has confirmed

"We re-recorded some of the lines post-launch and made them with real voices," Söderlund said. Some of the audio lines used in the game's in-match ping system were produced using an AI text-to-speech tool trained on recordings from voice actors the studio had already hired. Embark justified this approach by arguing it was a more practical solution than repeatedly calling voice actors back into the studio every time the live-service game received an update.

Söderlund says, "There is a quality difference. A real professional actor is better than AI; that's just how it is." Söderlund explained that Embark primarily sees AI as a utility for production purposes, one that lets the team experiment with different dialogue options before committing to a full recording session. "It's also a way for us to work, not replace actors. We don't necessarily believe in replacing humans with AI all the time."

He also addressed issue of wages. Using AI voices is often considered a way around paying fair wages for voice actors. "We pay our actors for all time spent with us in the booth and continue to bring many of them back as we carry on updating the game." In fact, Embark also pays voice actors to license their voices for Embark's text-to-speech program.

Söderlund also pulled back the curtain on how landscapes were created for Arc Raiders. "Very little of it is AI. A lot of it is reconfiguring what I believe are old ways of working — old toolsets, old pipelines, old engines, and saying there must be a better way of doing this."

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