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One of the unexpected stories this week has been that of a rather public spat between former Saber Interactive writer Stella Sacco, who claimed she was replaced in favour of AI, and the publisher's CEO, who tore into her via a statement sent to This Week in Videogames.

"Stella who?" asked Matt Karch, "I had to ask Claude because I have never spoken to her or seen her. We have already said we are using AI for certain parts of the game and will update the Steam page once we have finalized the feature set."

Karch also added that "it was always our intention to reveal this until Stella violated her confidentiality clause and revealed this before we were ready." Sacco, who claimed she was replaced "with ChatGPT" in 2023, called the statement "remarkably pathetic for the CEO of any company to be making."

You can read both parties' full statements in the articles linked above—the most recent development is that Saber Interactive has been seemingly pressed into adding a Steam AI disclaimer to the game's store page, which is present at the time of writing, but was notably not present when the game was put on the store on July 30.

"Once it's finalised we will update the Steam page," Karch told IGN. "In Rideshare we added an unrelated experimental mode to the game to play around with these concepts. "It's not the core experience. And even in this case it required us adding two writers and multiple coders to work with AI tools to try and get a reasonable result. Maybe we are bad at business but the net cost of incorporating these features was significantly higher than leaving them out."

Karch then goes on to say that "my PR team is always terrified by even broaching the subject but I would be happy to engage in a reasonable conversation about how AI can and should help shape gamer experiences."

The disclaimers in question make reference to not just these AI-generated dialogue, but also "a mix of radio stations featuring human-made music and AI-generated music. Stations containing AI-generated music are clearly labeled as such in the game."

Karch chalks up the entire debacle to a "publicity stunt… This person was removed from the project three years ago. We have actually increased our writing staff since 2023. If I wanted publicity for this little game though, then I guess I have Stella to thank for it."

The entire situation, to put it extremely lightly, is a bit of a mess—regardless of whether or not Saber's landed itself in troubled waters (Sacco seems to think so), if I were a videogame publisher, I might ask myself why I felt the need to wait to be "ready" to reveal something core about how my game was made, and why I might be making my PR team "terrified".

Could it be that AI is broadly unpopular with the gamers Saber Interactive is claiming to serve? Surely not.

Asus's ROG 20th anniversary edition gear is pretty much all about extravagance. Just look at the $600 Azoth Extreme Edition 20. The Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 is much the same, with gold plating and a whopping 65,000 DPI. It is bougie in feel, look, and price.

I couldn't possibly call it a bad gaming mouse, because taste aside, it's a bit of a beast. It's just not a feasible buy for someone only looking for a competitive-level gaming mouse, and that's before mentioning the weight increase that comes with shoving gold inside it.

Feeling like it's ripped straight out of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I think its smattering of blacks and golds looks super clean. I'm normally pretty cynical about gold, aesthetically speaking, but in this mouse, it feels like the appearance is really considered among the black and transparent sides. The 24K gold detailing is part of the ensemble, and not the centrepiece itself.

The scroll wheel and side buttons aren't actual gold (though they look it), but the internals are. That's why it has a transparent shell. The body of the mouse also hides an ROG 20th anniversary logo, which the RGB shines through when turned on. The whole thing looks great, be it turned on or not.

You can even argue the mouse's flair has utility too. The glass skates are super smooth, and the metal scroll wheel and side buttons are both satisfying to hit. In fact, I'd say the scroll wheel and side buttons are among the nicest I've used.

The mouse is sleek to the touch too, with a super smooth shell, and it feels great in the palm. Unfortunately though, that does make it a fingerprint magnet. The idea of getting a $250 gold-plated gaming mouse grubby makes me feel a bit nauseous, so it needs a quick wipe-down every few days.

It might get grubby, but strong materials make me feel confident that throwing it in a backpack won't do damage to it. The side walls don't bend under pressure, and as a result, it feels very sturdy.

Like the Azoth Extreme, it comes in packaging that is itself a statement. The box is a puzzle box-like triangle, with a smaller transparent display case in it, and that makes it easy to show off on a desk or shelf. The box comes with the wireless receiver, a USB extender, glass mouse feet, the cord, a thank you card, and a cleaning kit.

The Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 is pretty killer in the specs department and feels great in game. The AimPoint Pro sensor is snappy and fast, and though I'd never need a 65,000 DPI, and likely won't get much benefit from the 8,000 Hz polling, it's nice to have it in such an expensive mouse.

In fairness, I'd advise turning the mouse down to 1,000 Hz for anyone but the most competitive gamer, as the 70 or so hours of battery life take a hit as a result. And 70 hours is right around the middle of the pack, as it stands.

Though its specs make it a competitive-level mouse, the weight doesn't. 82 g is nearly double the 49 g in the Razer Viper V4 Pro, which is our current pick for the best gaming mouse, and Asus' offering is $90 more. Even the standard Harpe II Ace, which is a pretty similar mouse in looks and feel, weighs in at 48 g and is currently half the price of the Extreme Edition.

In-game, the Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 performs very well in my hands. The fast-paced, precise shooting of Counter-Strike 2 is a breeze, and the mouse clicks are not only well defined but very responsive too. I could see some not liking just how much the glass feet and smooth top slide, but for me, I find it to be just what I need to spring around quickly or snap onto heads.

That does mean it feels a tad overengineered for the likes of Slay the Spire 2, or other similarly slow games, but I wouldn't call that experience bad either. It feels like shooting a bullet at an ant. It will get the job done, but it's a bit flashy, isn't it?

Painting simulator Such Art is a classic mouse testing game for me, as it requires fine movement and has a slower pace. The mouse needs to feel comfortable; it needs to slide smoothly, and the sensor needs to send data to the computer at a consistent rate to perfectly draw, well, whatever my meagre art skills are capable of. I'm happy to report the Asus passed with flying colours here, proving the only obstacle to me making good art is myself.

The actual design of the mouse feels a bit more plain than I would expect for such a flashy mouse. You aren't getting extra functions here, or even anything like the Hyperscroll wheel Razer shoves into the Razer Naga V3 Pro. It has a DPI and pair button on the bottom, plus the option to swap from wired to wireless, and that's it. But as such, other than the smooth feel, there's not much to get used to. It's a typical gaming mouse, just one that's luxuriously built and luxuriously priced.

But let's be honest, the Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 is not a gaming mouse you buy simply because you wanted something with competitive specs. You can get equally competitive or even better choices for cheaper. For the same price, you can get one and a half Razer Viper V4 Pros or just under eight Mchose G3 V2s. In fact, as we noted recently, you can pick up an entire desk setup for less money than this mouse alone.

But if you have the cash to spare and want something to celebrate Asus ROG's 20th anniversary, the Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 does not rest on the laurels that are its gold trimmings. It's a very solidly made gaming mouse, and viable in both competitive and non-competitive games. It looks great, feels great in the hand, and comes with tons of little extras in the box. And should you want to put it away, the display case looks great too.

Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give Asus on its Harpe II Extreme Edition 20 is that I don't dislike the mouse nearly as much as I thought I might, based on the price and look. The notion of paying over $200 for something that has gold in it certainly makes my wallet retch, but boy does Asus do a lot to justify that price tag.

It's simply infeasible for the average gamer, but that's not who this is for. Like the Azoth Extreme Edition 20, Melgeek's Centauri 80, or MSI's Godlike X motherboard, it being over the top is the point here. But if your blood is a bit richer than mine, I don't think you'll be disappointed.