In a surprising twist, several voice actors from the incredibly popular game Genshin Impact have come forward claiming that they are not being paid for their work. Despite the enormous financial success of the game, these actors allege that they have been underpaid or even not paid by the developer studio, HoYoverse.
According to testimonials from various voice actors involved in the project, the company is underpaying and sometimes not paying at all. However, the studio has responded by claiming that, in reality, it is the recording studio used that has not made the payments on time. Two voice actors have come out publicly sharing their experience on Twitter. Corina Boettger, the English voice behind the popular non-player character Paimon , claims she is owed thousands of dollars, and Brandon Winckler (who voices several minor roles) has shared a similar story before finally deciding to leave the production.
Boettger expressed his opinion on the situation through a thread on Twitter, stating that he has not been paid in "months" and added: " Just to be clear, we do not know if this is the fault of the studio or the game company. But regardless, if the game was unionized, this wouldn't happen ." Winckler also revealed that, in addition to the delays, his wages were extremely low. " It's so hard to justify working at something for the sake of working when you can't afford to eat ," they tweeted. « Many non-union productions have this problem. I have waited between 4 and 8 months to receive payments, and still, it is not much that is being asked of us. 1,000 here, 500 there, and it adds up fast ."
Both actors have suggested that a game as big as Genshin Impact should be a unionized project to ensure voice actors are treated fairly and paid on time, especially given the game's heavy financial fallout. Genshin Impact reportedly generated a total of $3.7 billion between 2020 and 2022, and Winckler estimates that the game brings in roughly $86 million a month. Although Boettger appears to continue to work with the studio, Winckler has decided to seek employment elsewhere. " Personally, I won't be working on this game unless a union contract is signed ," Winckler said of his decision to leave Genshin Impact. «I don't have much to lose with this election, and if I'm lucky, I hope that others at least understand my position ».
HoYoverse issued a statement suggesting that it is the recording studio they use, and not the developer itself, that is responsible for late payments to voice actors. They claimed to be putting pressure on the recording studio to make payments and are looking for "workarounds" to resolve the situation. " We sincerely regret to learn of the current situation ," the studio said. «Genshin Impact values and respects the work and effort of everyone involved, and we support our voice actors to claim their fair share. We have made payments to our recording studio on time and have immediately urged the studio to pay our voice actors. In the meantime, we are also looking for alternative solutions. We will keep everyone informed about the progress ».
Unions have been gaining more traction in the video game industry of late, with ZeniMax quality assurance employees voting to unionize in January, and Sega workers in Irvine forming the largest multi-sector union in history. of video games earlier this week. The trend toward unionization is encouraging, but situations like the Genshin Impact pay controversy clearly demonstrate that the playing field is not level yet, and pro-union workers in the video game industry have an uphill battle ahead.
Source: Gamespot
