The CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, Shams Jorjani, recently weighed in ARC Raiders' AI controversy, as the company has used the technology to bring some voice lines to life. ARC Raiders was originally released on October 30th and is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
ARC Raiders has proven to be a huge success, as it recently broke its own concurrent player record of 416,000 on Steam. Instead of seeing a drop in user numbers, which would be normal, the popular extraction game shot to new heights with 481,966 concurrent players in its third weekend. While this would be big news for Embark Studios at any time, it is particularly noteworthy that ARC Raiders gathered so many players during the launch weekend for both Escape from Tarkovs 1.0 release and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. However, ARC RaidersThe success has come with some controversy, as Embark Studios uses AI to bring some of the game's voice work to life.
Arrowhead's CEO thinks there is a middle ground for AI
As reported by GamesRadar+, Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Shams Jorjani recently appeared on The Game Business Show to discuss a variety of topics, including the use of AI in video games that ARC Raiders. Jorjani discussed the industry's reaction to AI and boiled it down to two ways of thinking. On the one hand, Square Enix has declared that they would like to automate 70% of their QA tests. On the other hand, “we have developers who feel that their livelihood… the very fabric of their being is threatened, and therefore all AI is bad AI.” Jorjani seems to think the true answer lies somewhere in the middle.
It is important to note that while ARC RaidersThe use of AI may be frustrating for some, voice actors were paid for their work. Embark Studios uses its AI in a way that allows the company to expand on the voice lines in the game without constantly calling actors back to the studio. This makes it easier for the company to add new items, locations and so on. Jorjani seems to recognize the importance of making sure people are compensated, saying “we have to make sure we don't steal people's intellectual property and rights.” He even went on to say it ARC Raiders can be “a very interesting use case that actually makes gameplay better.”
ARC Raiders is not the only game to make waves with its latest use of technology, which Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has been criticized for using generative AI. Many fans of the franchise were not surprised, as the company has been accused of using AI art for in-game assets and promotional material in the past. While the future of AI in gaming seems uncertain, many people are hopeful that companies will find a way to use the technology in a way that enhances human contributions instead of replacing them entirely.
- Released
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30 October 2025
- ESRB
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Teen/violence, blood
