Two actors from gargantuan HoYoverse gacha Zenless Zone Zero say they found out about their replacements when patch notes for the game dropped alongside its latest update this week.
Soldier 11 star Emeri Chase and Lycaon actor Nicholas Thurkettle have had all of their voice lines removed from the game and re-recorded by new performers. Neither of them say they were aware of the decision in advance.
Chase said she believes the decision is due to the fact she’s “unwilling to perform work not covered by a SAG Interim Agreement during a strike for AI protection, the outcome of which will determine the future of our industry”.
She added on Bluesky: “I knew that by withholding work it was possible I'd be replaced, though of course I hoped they would choose to leave [Soldier 11] silent until I was able to return. I found out the role was recast today alongside all of you.”
Thurkettle, meanwhile, argued he’s been available for work all along: “I'm learning about this as you are and I share your shock. Neither HoYoverse nor Sound Cadence has communicated with me since October. I've been fully available and recorded multiple voice jobs in that time.”
He did, however, continue that he’s taken a “personal stand” against AI: “I’m not SAG but what game companies want to do with AI is an existential threat. I took a personal stand to ask for protection, and had to be willing to give up the best thing that’s ever happened in my professional life. I stand by my choice.”
Sound Cadence, the company hired by HoYoverse to record its English voice acting, has since released a statement saying “every contract at our studio features explicit AI protections, regardless of union status”.
It explained: “The decision to recast talent on any project is not made lightly. While sometimes our hands are tied as to what we can communicate and when, we understand how personally actors take their roles, and always want to ensure no one is ever blindsided. Our studio has and will continue to honour legacy casting on all projects we’ve inherited whenever possible, and always reach out to actors to reprise their roles before investigating any other options.”
It concluded that “human actors matter” and we will “continue to bring voices to our clients’ projects in the most human way possible”.
Fans pointed out that, while they appreciated the statement from Sound Cadence, none of it explained why the original actors found out about their replacements after the latest patch had been publicly deployed.