The voice behind one of Genshin Impact’s most memorable characters has brought to light issues over missing payments.
Corina Boettger, the English-language voice actor for Paimon, has called out Genshin Impact over missing payments. In a tweet initially not naming the studio, Boettger revealed she was owed “thousands of dollars,” citing that the project she’d worked on made “billions.”
Boettger’s claims were confirmed by another voice actor, Brandon Winckler, who voiced several background characters in Genshin Impact. In a series of tweets, Winckler was clearly unhappy with the delay in payment: “I'm so sick of waiting 3+ months for payment for literally the BIGGEST video game project out there.”
Both Genshin Impact voice actors haven’t gone so far as to accuse either a studio or the developer, miHoYo, of the issues with payment. Indeed, Winkler clarified that he’d been paid for work on another HoYoVerse game, Honkai Star Rail. That game’s english adaptation is handled by studio Rocket Sound. Genshin Impact’s english dub is handled by Formosa Interactive, a part of the Formosa Group, itself a part of Streamland Media.
VA's are voicing their concern
Instead of pointing direct fingers, both VA’s have advocated for video game voice actor’s union. Winkler stated “I personally won't be working on this game anymore unless it goes under a Union contract.” Bettger also agreed: “This wouldn't happen if the game was union. Tell them to make the game SAG.”
This declaration is very timely, given the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists combined union (SAG-AFTRA) today announced a strike in support of the ongoing WGA writers strike. The WGA strike is in aim of improving pay and working conditions, while also opening a dialogue about the future of AI’s usage in film and television.
But video games are a long way away from film and television in terms of union protections and support. Organizations such as Game Workers Unite have only existed for around five years, and new unions within studios, such as those in Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, and Sega of America have only become active in recent years. Clearly, with voice actors reportedly waiting months for thousands of dollars, union support would go a long way
Genshin Impact is one of the most played games in the world, recording approximately 50 million players in 2022.