The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past, a surprise new expansion for the storied RPG, features AI-retouched recordings of original Polish Geralt voice actor Jacek Rozenek, who gave CD Projekt Red his approval to have Ukrainian company Respeecher train a model with his voice.
GameFile (partially paywalled link) spoke to CDPR and Respeecher about the process. CDPR turned to this application of AI – not for the first time, as Respeecher previously helped with a Cyberpunk 2077 character whose actor died – because Rozenek's voice changed following recovery from a stroke he suffered in 2019.
The studio wanted Rozenek back, but new lines clashed when heard alongside the original The Witcher 3 dialogue. (English Geralt actor Doug Cockle required no retouching for Songs of the Past.)
To help train a more accurate version of Rozenek's voice, "we basically delivered to Respeecher all the lines that Jacek recorded for us for The Witcher 3," says localization producer Mikołaj Szwed.
On its website, Respeecher claims "our voice cloning technology is developed and used in a manner that is ethical, respectful, and beneficial for society." In its ethics manifesto, it notes that "explicit permission is required for all voice replications, secured through a mutually signed agreement to ensure full understanding and consent."
In a promotional blurb for its "AI Voice Technology," focusing on video games specifically, Respeecher boasts of the ability to "give voice to protagonists and NPCs - at scale and without expensive re-shoots."
Respeecher synthetic speech artist Dmytry Vasylets says "the brief was simple: make Jacek’s voice sound alive, rich and young, like in the original game."
Rozenek himself also weighed in: "The point is that this voice should be as close as possible to my voice from 12 years ago. I have great trust…for the creators of this game."
GameFile, briefed on before-and-after recordings, reports that "the difference was significant," with the retouched audio sounding smoother and younger. Szwed himself says the base recordings from Rozenek were "much lower, much gruffer" than the original Polish Geralt.
CDPR does acknowledge the concerns around generative AI in game development – an ever-boiling pot of controversy stirred by breathless proponents and uncompromising opponents. GamesRadar+ has spoken to dozens of game developers who've shared moral, creative, and legal arguments against the use of gen AI.
Arc Raiders developer Embark, previously criticized for using AI voices, faced renewed scrutiny after claiming that using real actors wouldn't have made sense for the game's numerous callouts and pings because people "would just go crazy if they had to read all of that." Many AI characters have now been re-recorded with real actors.
"I can tell you, as a person working with voice actors over all the regions in the world, this is a big concern," Szwed agrees. CDPR's contracts require consent for any AI work, he says, and it was only used in this case due to Rozenek's unique health situation.
"I do think this is one of those ways where you can use AI ethically, with consent and also to do something good," the localization producer adds. He notes that "this was a special case."
