Arc Raiders has reignited debate over the role of generative AI in games. While Nexon’s CEO argues AI is now ubiquitous in development, many creators — especially indies — sharply dispute that claim.
Nexon chief Junghun Lee told Japanese outlet Game*Spark (translation available via Automaton) that, “I think it’s important to assume that every game company is now using AI.” Lee said Nexon’s studios have leaned on AI to streamline both production and live-service operations and framed Nexon’s competitive edge as a continued emphasis on human creativity even as the company adopts new tools.
The controversy around Arc Raiders centered on voice work: Embark Studios recorded actors and then used text-to-speech systems trained on those performances to generate additional lines — an approach the studio also employed for 2023’s The Finals. Embark defends the method as a practical way to add fresh voice lines for a live service without repeatedly recalling performers.
Many independent developers pushed back, calling broad claims that “everyone” uses generative AI misleading. Strange Scaffold’s creative director Xalavier Nelson Jr. posted on Bluesky, “We don’t use generative AI at Strange Scaffold…and I can confirm that a *lot* of other studios are not—whether indie or AAA. Get outta here with this normalization bullshit.”
Other studios echoed that stance. Promise Mascot Agency developer Kaizen Game Works posted its games contain “no genAI — all pure, human nonsense and love.” D-Cell Games producer Chi Xu said the team avoided AI on the upcoming rhythm-adventure Unbeatable, arguing that outsourcing creative choices to tools makes work “empty, vapid, and meaningless.” Necrosoft, maker of tactics RPG Demonschool, bluntly declared it would “rather cut off our own arms” than use AI in development.
Not everyone criticized AI’s use. After Eurogamer’s review of Arc Raiders faulted the game’s generative voicework, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney responded on X, “Political opinions should go into op eds folks.” He later suggested that debates over whether AI is beneficial or harmful are often speculative and aligned with broader political divides, and that productivity gains from technology tend to push developers toward making better games through competition rather than simply cutting staff.
Nelson has also framed the controversy around practical capability, calling reliance on AI a “skill issue.” He noted Strange Scaffold’s rapid output — the studio released Clickolding, I Am Your Beast, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown between July 2024 and May 2025 — as evidence that high-volume production is possible without generative tools.
When Polygon sought Nelson’s perspective, he outlined the main reasons studios are turning to generative AI: pressure from management, genuine belief that it enables new creative forms, a fear of falling behind, the ability to cheaply produce passable assets when budgets or schedules are tight, and using AI to plug quality or precision gaps. He warned that the last two rationales are particularly hazardous because they can mask broken processes — allowing “good enough” AI fixes to replace proper design, planning, and player-focused quality control, ultimately degrading trust and the player experience.
Representatives for Nexon did not respond to requests for comment before publication.
Source: Polygon
