Game Developer Employs Generative AI To Revive Voice Of Late Actor
We’ve seen generative AI at the center of many internet-related companies like OpenAI, Google, and even Meta, but so far we’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to implementing entertainment-based AI. product like a video game. Now CD Projekt Red, the developer of Cyberpunk 2077, has reportedly used artificial intelligence to create the voice of a dead actor for the game.
CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the voice of Miłogost Reczek, the late Polish voice actor who died in 2021, Viktor Vektor, was created using artificial intelligence for Cyberpunk 2077’s expansion, Phantom Liberty.
The publisher notes that they obtained consent from the actor’s family before starting to create his voice with artificial intelligence. They also considered replacing Reczek’s voice actor in the original game and the Phantom Liberty expansion with a new actor, but ultimately decided against it, according to a Bloomberg report.
Bloomberg added that CD Projekt Red enlisted the help of Ukrainian voice cloning technology called Respeecher when they hired a new voice actor to record Viktor Vektor’s lines for the Phantom Liberty expansion. “This way we can keep his performance in the game and pay tribute to his amazing performance as Viktor Vektor,” CD Projekt Red localization director Mikołaj Szwed said.
The use of generative AI in the entertainment industry is becoming more common, with popular franchises such as Star Wars recently using AI to replace deceased performers such as Carrie Fisher.
