Embark Studios has addressed the use of AI-generated voices in Arc Raiders in a new video hosted by Danny O’Dwyer. Chief creative officer Stefan Strandberg and other studio staff discuss why the game used AI voice acting, a decision that drew criticism from players and games journalists.
One explanation focuses on the number of dialogue variations required for in-game communications, including public pings that convey information during play. Audio director Bence Pajor says recording every version would be impractical and remarks that actors would “go crazy” if asked to read it all.
The video also features two of the game’s voice actors appearing to defend the use of AI, though the original report notes their comments may lack context. Later, they say they questioned whether they could truly own performances when so much of the material was not actually them, and concluded they could not.
Arc Raiders launched in October 2025 with a mix of human and AI-generated voice work. Embark said in March 2026 that it had begun replacing AI voices with recordings from human actors. In the new video, the studio says it stayed silent after the criticism and instead worked to rerecord the lines. Strandberg says the studio is not in the business of replacing actors and argues that performers should be celebrated and given more space.
The video’s discussion has renewed attention to the studio’s original decision and its subsequent replacement of AI lines. The source report notes that the change followed player and journalist backlash, while Embark presents its approach as an effort to take voice actors’ roles more seriously.
Sources: Kotaku.