Many players have noticed that the voice lines in Arc Raiders sound a bit robotic. The calls from raiders during missions often sound like text-to-speech AI voices. This is because, for many of the smaller lines, that is exactly what they are. The developers used AI to handle the massive amount of scavenged items in the game. Each item needs a specific voice callout, and recording all of them with human actors would be very expensive.
This choice to use AI voices has been a point of criticism for the game. Beyond the debate about using technology instead of hiring real voice actors, the AI lines can take players out of the experience. This is frustrating because the rest of the game’s audio is excellent. The sounds of the machines are terrifying, and you can hear every move an enemy makes. The robotic voices feel out of place in what is otherwise a high-quality audio design.
Aleksander Grøndal, the executive producer for the game, was asked about why the team made this decision and if they plan to fix it. He explained that the game uses a mix of real recordings and AI technology. The longer conversations and important lines are recorded by actual actors. The AI is used for the shorter lines that would have been too difficult to record in full.
Grøndal admitted that if the AI voices break the immersion for players, that is not what the team wants. He said the goal is always to help the immersion, not hurt it. He mentioned that some of the voice lines are “based on captures of the real actors,” which suggests they might be using AI to modify or generate lines from real recordings.
It seems the developers are listening to the feedback from the community. If players are loud enough about wanting better voices, Embark seems willing to change how they handle voice acting in their games. They understand that the current implementation has flaws that need addressing.
Grøndal stated that the team is still learning how to best use this technology. He promised that they will try to be better over time. He views the current release as a starting point for the game. Embark has shown that they want to push things forward and improve as they go.
The studio also talked about adding voluntary wipes to the game, allowing players to reset their progress if they choose to. This gives players more control over their experience in the world of Arc Raiders.
Arc Raiders is set to launch on October 30 for Xbox, PlayStation 5, and PC. As the release date gets closer, players will be watching closely to see if the audio issues are addressed in future updates.
