Genshin Impact voice actors allege months of unpaid work and call for unionisation
Publishers MiHoYo "have immediately urged the [recording] studio to pay our voice actors"
Free-to-play gacha-driven game Genshin Impact grosses billions annually, however, multiple voice actors claim they haven’t been paid anything for months. Corina Boettger (the voice behind Paimon) and Brandon Winckler (the voice behind several minor roles) both jumped on Twitter to express frustration and call for the game to become a “union production.” Meanwhile, developer/publisher MiHoYo say they’ve paid the third-party recording studio involved and “immediately urged [them] to pay our voice actors.”
Winckler claims they’ve been “waiting 4+ months for pay” while receiving “no response” to their multiple payment requests. “It’s really hard to justify working on something… when you can’t afford to eat,” tweeted Winckler. Meanwhile, Boettger tweeted “I am owed thousands of dollars. I am struggling currently to pay rent.”
In a statement to RPS, publishers MiHoYo said:
“We truly regret to learn about the ongoing situation. Genshin Impact values and respects the work and effort of everyone involved, and we support our voice actors to claim their proper due. We have made payments to our recording studio on time and we have immediately urged the studio to pay our voice actors. Meanwhile, we are also seeking alternative solutions. We will keep everyone posted on further developments”
Both concerned actors feel the situation wouldn’t have occured if Genshin Impact were a union production. Winckler says that “Many non-union productions have this problem, I’ve waited anywhere from 4-8 months for payment,” and the actor won’t be working on the game again “unless it goes under a union contract.”
“This wouldn’t happen if the game was union,” Boettger also said. “Tell them to make the game SAG,” referring to the Screen Actors Guild union which also represents voiceover talent in video games.