Multiplayer shooter The Finals has made a public response to recent criticisms related to the game's use of AI voice acting in the open beta. The competitive shooter from developer Embark Studios has seen plenty of excitement among fans since its initial announcement last year. The competitive shooter has already featured multiple testing periods with a closed alpha test and two betas, launching the newest open beta test for The Finals earlier this month. Now, Embark is seeing backlash from fans over its use of AI voice actors.

While many fans have shown their excitement for The Finals as a unique and fast-paced competitive shooter, the game's open beta has seen a rocky launch. Players on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions were reporting major issues with the console versions, with Embark publicly addressing the frequent client crashes with promises of a fix to come. Embark's shooter has been so popular that The Finals even implemented a login queue, overwhelmed by the massive playerbase. Now, AI voices are the focus of a recent controversy surrounding the shooter.

RELATED: The Finals Xbox and PS5 Beta is Having Some Serious Issues

Embark Studios recently released a public response to the mounting criticism over its use of AI voices within The Finals. As reported by IGN, Embark would state that a "game without actors isn't the end goal," confirming that it uses a mix of AI and real voice actors within its in-game dialogue. Embark had previously revealed it uses AI voices for some callouts, confirming that it uses in-studio voices for some sound effects like grunting and breathing noises. Now, Embark's recent statement confirms The Finals features some AI voice work based on both voice actors and in-house employees.

AI voice acting has been a controversial topic as of late with both the gaming industry and Hollywood up in arms over the new technology. Both the massive SAG-AFTRA strike and the Writer's Guild strikes from earlier this year would feature the use of AI as a major resting point for their disputes. The gaming industry would also become embroiled in the ongoing strike, with video game voice actors voting on joining the SAG-AFTRA strike late last month. The strike also follows a wave of unionization efforts throughout the gaming industry throughout recent years.

While The Finals has been slammed for its use of AI voices, the criticism does not appear to have stopped the game's hype. The highly-anticipated shooter would post a staggering concurrent player count of over 260,000 during its first weekend on Steam. Many fans already feel The Finals could be a major successful esports title, praising its fully destructible environments and fast-paced gameplay. The Finals' AI criticisms will serve as a dark spot on an otherwise successful launch for the shooter's open beta.

The Finals

Framed as a game show, The Finals is a free-to-play multiplayer shooter that also supports melee combat. Embark's FPS emphasizes destruction along with teamwork.

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Developer(s)

Embark Studios

Publisher(s)

Embark Studios

Genre(s)

FPS

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

See at Steam