Players are accusing The Game Awards of purposely not nominating Arc Raiders due to the game’s usage of AI. The TGA snub has re-sparked a debate about the controversy surrounding the extraction shooter using artificial intelligence.
Arc Raiders AI Drama Explained
The controversy surrounding Arc Raiders first started on November 10, when Eurogamer gave the game a 2 out of 5 due to it using AI. Despite being a mostly positive review, the outlet dinged Embark Studios multiple points for using generative artificial intelligence for its voice lines. The low score knocked Arc Raiders down from being the highest-rated game of the year on Metacritic.
The review also sparked a firestorm online. On one side, you had Arc Raiders fans saying the review was unfair for docking it so many points over a single issue. Others defended the outlet’s score, saying a reviewer is allowed to give a negative review if they find AI objectionable. Even Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney weighed in on the situation when he posted on X, “Political opinions should go into op eds folks.”
However, the drama surrounding Arc Raiders and AI was again reignited on November 17, when it was revealed that the extraction shooter only received a single nomination at The Game Awards 2025. Because of the multiplayer’s massive popularity, many players were surprised that it wasn’t nominated in any of the award ceremony’s major categories, including Game of the Year.
Arc Raiders Players Claim TGA Snub Was Because of AI
Following the supposed snub, Arc Raiders players started to accuse TGA of punishing the title for using AI. A second debate about the extraction shooter’s AI use was then reignited online when popular Twitch streamer xQc called out The Game Awards in a series of posts on X.
“I think The Game Awards are trying to avoid alienating their viewer base by not including Arc Raiders in a few categories because of the ‘AI’ controversy. Ironically, they are alienating those who care about the integrity of the show.” When someone pressed the streamer on what categories it was snubbed from, he responded, “Winning is one thing, but NOMINATED? Audio, action, art. Can easily replace most titles in those categories really.”
Interestingly, he’s not alone in his opinion. I’ve seen a lot of people shocked that Arc Raiders wasn’t nominated in the Sound Design category, for example. However, xQc’s claim that The Game Awards purposely snubbed Arc Raiders over AI gained support from players who believed the same. “We need answers, this is fishy,” a user replied. Another fan exclaimed, “Yeah it should’ve at least been included in audio design and GOTY.”
Was Arc Raiders Really Snubbed for AI?
As for whether Arc Raiders was actually snubbed over AI or not, there is no proof of this. The Game Awards voting is 10% user-based, and 90% from a pre-selected jury. The jury is made up of various gaming outlets and journalists. Granted, many outlets voting in the TGA 2025 could have dinged the extraction shooter for using AI.
But on the other hand, Arc Raiders currently has an 86 on Metacritic with 50 reviews counted in. So while a divisive issue, not that many gaming sites seemed to weigh the AI controversy the same as Eurogamer. Basically it’s impossible to know whether it was purposely snubbed or not, but many players seem to believe so.
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