If you’ve been following Genshin Impact in the last year and a half, you might have noticed that some characters no longer have voice lines. The issue has also hit Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero, two other HoYoverse games. This is because of an ongoing strike by SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents many video game voice actors in the United States.
What’s Going on With the Genshin Impact Voice Cast
Since late 2024, a lot of voice actors have stopped working on projects that are not union-supported. This includes Genshin Impact and various other HoYoverse games. As a result, some characters have been left voiceless in the English version, while others have already been recast.
For example, the character Kinich recently had their English voice actor changed from John Patneaude to Jacob Takanashi. The strike has made things difficult for many developers, but it’s especially noticeable in HoYoverse games. These games release new updates and characters often, which makes it more obvious when voice lines are missing.
The situation is still ongoing, and it’s unclear how long it will take before things return to normal.
Paimon’s English Voice Actor Speaks Out
In a new interview with YouTuber Paperbag Boy, Corina Boettger, the English voice of Paimon, talked about her experience. Most of the interview is about the current voice actor strike. Boettger has been the voice of Paimon since a while and is one of the most known voices in the game.
During the interview, she revealed that after John Patneaude was replaced (though she accidentally said “Jacob”), she told HoYoverse she wouldn’t continue voicing Paimon until the game becomes union-supported. Boettger explained that her concerns aren’t just about AI protections. It’s also about payment issues, including not being paid on time as required by her contract (payment that is handled by Formosa and not Mihoyo directly).
Because of this, she believes HoYoverse will probably replace her. For now, Paimon is still fully voiced by Boettger in the current version of the game. It’s unclear how far in advance her lines were recorded, or if a change is already planned.
As the strike goes on, it’s starting to seem more about shutting out non-union voice actors than addressing AI problems.
You can watch the full interview here:
If Paimon’s VA indeed gets replaced, it will be a massive change. This may also be a good opportunity to give the Traveler a bit more voice instead.
