Helldivers 2 Boss Comments on ARC Raiders’ Use of AI

The CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, Shams Jorjani, recently weighed in on ARC Raiders‘ AI controversy, as the company has made use of the technology to bring certain voice lines to life. ARC Raiders was originally released on October 30 and is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

ARC Raiders has proven to be a massive success, as it recently broke its own concurrent player record of 416,000 on Steam. Instead of seeing a dip in users, which would be normal, the popular extraction shooter soared to new heights with 481,966 concurrent players during its third weekend. While this would be big news for Embark Studios at any time, it’s particularly notable that ARC Raiders amassed so many players on the launch weekend of both Escape from Tarkov‘s 1.0 release and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. However, ARC Raiders‘ success has come with a bit of controversy, as Embark Studios uses AI to bring some of the game’s voice work to life.

Arrowhead CEO Thinks There’s 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 wide variety of topics, including the use of AI in video games like ARC Raiders. Jorjani discussed the industry’s reaction to AI, boiling it down to two ways of thinking. On the one hand, Square Enix has declared that it would like to automate 70% of its QA testing. On the other hand, “we have developers who feel that their livelihood… the very fabric of their being is being threatened, and therefore all AI is bad AI.” Jorjani seems to believe that the true answer is somewhere in the middle.

It’s important to note that, while ARC Raiders‘ use of AI might be frustrating to some, voice actors were paid for their work. Embark Studios is using its AI in a way that allows the company to expand upon the voice lines in the game without constantly calling actors back into the studio. This makes it easier for the company to add in new items, locations, and so forth. Jorjani seems to realize how critical it is to make sure people are compensated, saying “we need to make sure that we’re not stealing people’s intellectual property and rights.” He even went on to say that ARC Raiders could be “a very interesting use case that actually makes gaming better.”

ARC Raiders isn’t the only game to make waves with its recent use of the technology, as Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has been criticized for using generative AI. Many fans of the franchise weren’t surprised, as the company has been accused of using AI art for in-game assets and promotional materials in the past. While the future of AI in gaming seems uncertain, many people are hopeful that companies will find a way to utilize the technology in a way that enhances human contributions instead of replacing them altogether.

Released

October 30, 2025

ESRB

Teen / Violence, Blood