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ARC Raiders Developers Address AI Voice Criticism and Explain Ping System Tradeoffs

Audio director Bence Pajor says frequent feature changes make recording every possible ping line impractical.

Angel Kicevski 36 minutes ago

0 14 1 minute read

An ARC Raiders character wearing a blue helmet and carrying a weapon.

Embark Studios has acknowledged that some criticism of AI voice work in ARC Raiders was fair. Audio director Bence Pajor says the game’s changing features also make it impractical to record every possible line for its ping system.

In an Embark video about the game’s sound and music, Pajor explained that actors have been involved throughout development. The studio used recordings of their voices as training data, allowing it to prototype dialogue before the final lines were settled.

The ping system adds another layer of work. Pajor said new items and features need dialogue because players can ping them, creating many possible variations. With features changing quickly, bringing actors back for every revision was not feasible, he said.

One developer said Embark had already seen similar reactions to comparable technology in The Finals and knew its use in ARC Raiders could draw criticism. Some players objected to the AI-generated dialogue’s sound even though the actors involved had signed contracts permitting the use of their voices.

Embark had already changed some of that dialogue. In March 2026, studio head Patrick Söderlund told GamesIndustry.biz that the studio had re-recorded some lines with actors, leaving fewer AI lines than at the game’s October 2025 launch. Söderlund said licensed text-to-speech was still used in selected cases, including ping audio, and that some performers received additional compensation for allowing their voices to be used with those tools.

The debate extends beyond how the lines sound. In a December 2025 PCGamesN interview, actor Neil Newbon argued that replacing recording sessions with text-to-speech can cost performers paid work. He suggested successful games could return to those lines and record them with actors.

Embark chief creative officer Stefan Strandberg said in the sound and music video that he wants to give performances more room and hopes players will learn more about ARC Raiders’ characters and motivations over the coming years.

How do you feel about Embark’s explanation for using AI in the ping system? Follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, Telegram for more on ARC Raiders and its evolving voice work.

ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, ravaged by a mysterious mechanized threat known as ARC. Enlist as a Raider and scavenge the surface to thrive in a desolate world. But beware of the machines. Beware of Raiders preying on others.

ARC Raiders blends the tension from extraction shooters with atmospheric settings from the adventure genre. Lurking threats—from deadly machines to other Raiders—create a constant ebb and flow of intensity, where every moment is charged with the thrill of high stakes. Extract valuable loot and explore the unfolding mysteries of a vibrant, lethal world.

ARC Raiders supports seamless social play across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Play with your squad and thrive as a team, or rise in the ranks as a lone ranger.