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CD Projekt used AI to modify the voice of Geralt's Polish actor after a stroke left it significantly changed: 'This was a special case'

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CD Projekt used AI to modify the voice of Geralt's Polish actor after a stroke left it significantly changed: 'This was a special case'

Conversations about the ethical use of AI in game development are about to get a whole lot more difficult as Game File reports that CD Projekt worked with AI company Respeecher to modify the game's Polish voice actor for the upcoming Songs of the Past expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

The actor, Jacek Rozenek, voiced Geralt in the Polish editions of all the Witcher games, including The Witcher 3 and its two expansions, and the Game File report says his performances are highly regarded. But in 2019, he suffered a stroke that left him temporarily unable to speak; by 2021 he had rehabilitated enough to be able to provide some new lines for The Witcher 3's next-gen update, but the process left him "exhausted."

Still, he continued to train and was eventually able to return to work, and when CD Projekt decided to make a new Witcher 3 expansion it wanted him back for the role. But the stroke, and the passage of time, had left Rozenek's voice noticeably changed. Given that Songs of the Past will occur in the midst of The Witcher 3, that shift in tone—"lower [and] gruffer," according to Game File's Stephen Totilo—presented a problem.

So with Rozenek's permission, CD Projekt approached AI voice company Respeecher to rework his voice for the game. Rozenek is still providing the voice of Geralt in the Polish version of the expansion, but Respeecher is adjusting it to make him sound like he did a decade ago.


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