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."
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