Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund says Arc Raiders now contains fewer AI voice lines than it did at launch after the team re-recorded some lines with real actors.
Söderlund offered an update on the studio’s views regarding artificial intelligence during an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. Among various updates that have brought new enemies, cosmetics, locations, and more, he says the team has already replaced some of its heavily criticized AI content with performances from real human beings.
“We re-recorded some of the lines post-launch and made them with real voices,” Söderlund said. “There is a quality difference. A real professional actor is better than AI; that’s just how it is. We look at [AI] first and foremost as a production tool. We can test things internally. We can test 15 different lines without recording them, and then we know what to record. 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.”
Arc Raiders came out of 2025 not only as a massive success for Embark, but also as one of the breakout hits of the year. One stain on its ascent, however, revolves around how fans responded to the team’s use of AI voices for many of its in-game characters. Even as complaints piled, publisher Nexon defended its use of the controversial technology, telling Game*Spark in November that players should “assume that every game company is now using AI.”
“A real professional actor is better than AI; that’s just how it is.”“
Although Söderlund assures that some AI content has already been re-recorded, it’s currently unclear if there is any plan to eventually replace all AI material in question. He also wants fans to know that “a lot” of the voice lines in Arc Raiders were recorded by humans, adding that those who have contributed their voices to the game have been compensated for their work and time.
“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,” he said. “For select usage, we also pay them for the approval to license their voices through text-to-speech for lines that aren’t as essential to the immersion of the experience, mostly ping system audio.”
Arc Raiders launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S October 30, 2025. We gave it it a 9/10 in our review upon its release, saying at the time that it “sets a new standard for extraction shooters.” It’s unclear how many copies have been sold in the five months since its launch, but we do at least know it managed to pass 12.4 million copies sold in January and 14 million by February.
We spoke with Söderlund about Arc Raiders’ past, present, and future last month to learn more about how Embark brought its PvPvE vision to life. He also confirmed that reports of its $75 million budget were “ballpark” correct.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
