Cyberpunk 2077 turns to AI to replace departed actor in Phantom Liberty: “This way we could keep his performance in the game”

CD Projekt Red has used a combination of AI and a new voice actor to record new lines for a Cyberpunk 2077 character in Phantom Liberty. 

That comes from Bloomberg, which reports that the developer did consider recasting the Polish language actor of Doctor Viktor Vektor but decided against it as they wanted the performance of Miłogost Reczek – who passed in 2021 – to be preserved as a tribute. As such, with permission from the actor's family, they opted to go the route of AI.

Speaking to Bloomberg, CD Projekt localization director Mikołaj Szwed praises Reczek as "one of the best Polish voice talents," calling his in-game performance "stellar." 

Szwed goes on to say that the team hired a different voice actor to perform the new lines before using a Ukraine-based voice-cloning software called Respeecher to make it all sound like Reczek. 

"This way we could keep his performance in the game and pay tribute to his wonderful performance as Viktor Vektor," Szwed says, adding that Reczek's sons "were very supportive."

AI has been a hot topic across film and games over the last year. At the time of writing, Hollywood actors are currently on strike over myriad issues, one of which is how far studios can go when using artificial intelligence to manipulate and replicate their work, living or deceased. Just recently, Robin Williams' daughter said using AI to recreate his voice was "disturbing." 

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