Baldur's Gate 3 Shadowheart actor was in "a lot of debt" before the breakout RPG, a "really classist" reality for many industry performers: "How on Earth do you do it?"

Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing companion Shadowheart, a young half-elf woman with long tied-back black hair — (Image credit: Larian Studios)

Baldur's Gate 3 actors have come out about how difficult it is to make a living off video game jobs, and the voice of Shadowheart herself admitted she was actually in debt before the RPG blew up in popularity.

During the VGC Podcast, Aliona Baranova (the voice of Xeph and Corinna the squirrel) and Jennifer English (the voice of Shadowheart) talked about how the deck is almost stacked against game talent. Actors working in TV and film might get royalties or be on shoots that keep them employed for months - video game actors, on the other hand, don't have the same privilege.

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"I was in lots of debt, frankly, before Baldur's Gate 3," English said. "Thank goodness I've managed to get myself out of it, but yeah, there was a point where I couldn't make my rent… I think it is why a lot of actors, including actors in video games, are from wealthy backgrounds."

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English calls it an unfortunate, "really classist" reality "because if you haven't got that financial support from family, how on Earth do you do it? You just run yourself into debt?"

Baranova responds that the other option is to take up a second job, as she had done. "We also don't get royalties," Baranova continued. "It would be great if it were restructured a little bit because we know how much video games make. Everyone can do the maths. It would be nice if it were restructured and not just screen actors got paid a big bag to do the video games."

Thankfully, everything worked out well for the Baldur's Gate 3 cast. The game went absolutely viral, became a juggernaut sales hit, and almost all of its credited actors are now regulars on the convention circuit. Though, as the duo says, there are still deeper problems to sort out for actors as a whole.

Baldur's Gate 3 dev says AAA is "perversely fascinated" by indie games, because those devs still understand how to make good ideas that aren't reliant on data