The Rideshare Stimulator AI controversy appeared to be nearing an end today after writer Stella Sacco revealed that Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch had privately apologized to her for comments he made about her employment and abilities.

Sacco shared a post on Bluesky revealing that Karch had contacted her directly and "apologized unreservedly for the way he spoke about me in the press." While Sacco noted that the two still disagree over the use of AI in game development, she ultimately accepted the apology, saying that "Apologies are simply in too short supply these days to spurn one when it's offered."

The controversy began after Saber Interactive revealed Rideshare Stimulator, a mundane job simulation game in which players work as a rideshare driver. Sacco claimed that she had previously worked on the game before being fired, with her workload subsequently being taken over by an LLM. Saber later acknowledged that AI tools were being used in the game but denied that writers had been replaced wholesale by AI.

Karch then provided his own statement to This Week in Video Games, where he disputed Sacco's account and criticized her abilities. While insisting that she had not been replaced by an LLM, Karch said, "I would frankly in retrospect have been happy to replace her with AI."

That statement became a major source of criticism within the games industry, with several developers and writers publicly condemning Karch's response. Among them was Portal and Left 4 Dead writer Chet Faliszek, who published a 26-minute video criticizing Karch's handling of the situation and his comments about Sacco.

Karch's private apology to Sacco might have provided a natural conclusion to the controversy. However, he also published a new statement on LinkedIn reflecting on the situation, and while he did not name Sacco directly, he appeared to acknowledge that his original response had been a mistake.

"Resolve issues human-to-human," Karch wrote, seemingly referring to his private conversation with Sacco. "Escalating disputes through media channels or public statements rarely solves anything. Real resolution happens through direct, personal connection. If you cross a line, own it directly with the person involved."

Karch also made clear that his position on the use of generative AI in game development has not changed. However, the fourth paragraph of his LinkedIn post shifted attention toward Faliszek, who had continued to criticize Karch following the original controversy.

"The digital ecosystem thrives on outrage and surface-level takes," Karch wrote. "Case in point: a 26-minute video essay from an unsuccessful writer dedicated entirely to analyzing a single sarcastic quote of mine and pretending he knew exactly who I am—which somehow concluded with personal remarks about my physical anatomy and encouragement to accost me.

"When 'industry analysis' devolves into personal insults and threats, it says far more about the creator than it does about the subject. Relying on outrage algorithms for industry insights is a trap."The comments appear to reference Faliszek's August 14 video, "Who is the CEO of Saber Interactive?" The video runs for 26 minutes and 13 seconds and repeatedly criticizes Karch's behavior during the Rideshare Stimulator controversy. Faliszek also makes several personal remarks about Karch and tells viewers that they should "make fun of him" if they encounter the CEO at an industry event.

Faliszek's criticism was certainly personal in places, but the main argument of his video was that Karch's statement to This Week in Video Games had unnecessarily turned an already difficult situation into a much larger PR problem. Faliszek argued that Karch's comments about Sacco had escalated the controversy rather than resolving the dispute.

Interestingly, Karch's latest LinkedIn post reaches a similar conclusion. The CEO acknowledged that he should have avoided making his original statement and allowed Saber's communications team to handle the situation instead.

However, by publicly referencing Faliszek's video in his latest statement, Karch has once again drawn attention to the controversy just as it appeared to be settling down.

The video had fewer than 4,000 views at the time of writing, but Karch's comments have now given the dispute another angle, turning what was originally a controversy surrounding Rideshare Stimulator and AI into a much broader public dispute between the Saber Interactive CEO and a veteran game writer.