Saber Interactive Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits told IGN at Gamescom that there is "absolutely no generative AI" in the studio's upcoming licensed titles, naming Space Marine 3, Hellraiser, Stuntman, Turok, Jurassic Park, and its John Wick game specifically. Willits said Saber is instead experimenting with the technology on a smaller project, Rideshare Stimulator, to "see if it works" and gauge player reaction before deciding how to proceed elsewhere.
The caution around AI in big-ticket titles appears linked to the license holders involved, such as Games Workshop and Lionsgate. Games Workshop, which owns the Warhammer 40,000 IP behind Space Marine 3, enforces strict internal rules barring generative AI in its products or advertising—a stance that contrasts with rival tabletop company Wizards of the Coast's more permissive approach to AI use.
Despite the carve-out for licensed games, Willits and Saber CEO Matt Karch remain broadly supportive of AI in game development. Willits told PC Gamer he believes that had the original id Software team he worked with possessed generative AI tools in their era, they would have used them aggressively. He also acknowledged the technology's environmental costs, citing data centers' heat and water use, and floated Elon Musk's idea of putting servers in space as a possible long-term fix, saying he wouldn't mind waiting a few extra seconds for an AI-generated image in exchange.
The AI conversation comes as Saber faces continued fallout from the Rideshare Stimulator controversy, in which a former writer, Stella Sacco, alleged she was replaced by ChatGPT during development. Saber denied that specific claim but defended its broader use of AI for dialogue in the game, and CEO Karch has since apologized to Sacco while maintaining that "the digital ecosystem thrives on outrage and surface-level takes." The game's Steam page, which had lacked an AI disclosure since going live for wishlisting on July 30, has since been updated to include one.
Willits told PC Gamer that the backlash has not prompted Saber to change its communications approach, recalling similar criticism the studio faced over putting World War Z on Epic Games Store, which he noted has since been played by 30 million people. He encouraged people to judge Rideshare Stimulator for themselves once it releases. Willits also expressed confidence in Saber's current position, saying the studio believes it "can get any IP," while separately arguing that industry-wide economic troubles are driven partly by team size and overspecialization, though he maintains the crisis is not as severe as commonly portrayed.