You may have already noticed that the majority of the English dialogue in Genshin Impact is muted. Why? Read more to find out!
Ever since the launch of version 5.1 many players (including myself) who use English voice-over came across the issue of characters not speaking their dialogues.
Many thought this was just a bug and would be fixed and compensated (RIP 100 primogems). But in truth, this silence is caused by the VA (voice actors) strike from SAG – AFTRA.
This is a union for VAs who are protesting against AI for using their voice. And because the company overseeing Genshin Impact’s English VAs didn’t agree to their terms, the VAs have decided to go on strike until their demands are met.
But there are quite a few things that are going on behind the covers, which makes Hoyoverse ineffective in taking direct actions. That being said, there are ways the issue can be fixed.
What is the Genshin Impact Voice Actor Strike About?
As mentioned earlier, this strike is called from SAG – AFTRA. The demand for this strike is to protect voice actors from the fast-expanding AI. As with enough voice data AI can easily replicate Voice Actors making their need nonessential.
So, their primary claim is protection for that. They want voice actors to be compensated if their voice is used and for companies to ask for their permission to use their voice through AI.
Why Genshin Impact Facing This Issue?
You may wonder why Genshin even facing this issue as Hoyoverse isn’t associated with any VA association directly and not with SAG – AFTRA of course.
The thing is, for voiceovers that aren’t Genshin’s native (Chinese) Hoyoverse usually hires third-party VA organizations. They work intricately together and have a long-standing contract. Therefore, if the said 3rd party faces issues like strikes, there isn’t anything Hoyoverse can’t do directly.
The English language third party Hoyoverse uses here is Formosa Ocean which disagreed with the terms provided by the SAG–AFTRA. So, the voice actors who are part of the union stopped voicing their characters and we English voice-over users end up getting muted characters.
Until Formosa comes to terms with the condition this situation will keep going on.
Not Every Character is Affected
While the majority of the characters are voiced by the VAs associated with Formosa Ocean. There are some VAs like Paimon’s English VA who work through a different studio. Her studio actually agreed with the terms so we still can hear Paimon.
Keep in mind that Paimon’s VA was also part of Formosa but she was shifted to Furina Studios by Hoyoverse a year ago due to timely payment disparity.
Will Hoyoverse Do Anything?
You may wonder why Hoyoverse just doesn’t bring all the VAs to Furina Studio. That is not possible as there are long-existing contacts between the parties not to mention the VAs being employed by the Formosa in the first place.
If Hoyoverse pulls a move like that they will have to pay a hefty amount and other legal troubles. But they are certainly pressuring Formosa and that is the most effective action they can take at this moment.
Conclusion
While this seems like we might not be getting proper English voice-over for Genshin Impact for a long time. But keep in mind that we have power too. Being vocal about the situation on social media is obviously can be a good way to express your concerns.
If players also start using other Voice Overs that will also push the devs to tinker with this issue more. At the end of the day, it all comes down to what settlement Genshin Impacts Voice Actors and Formosa Studios come up with SAG – AFTRA.
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