Genshin Impact Voice Cast Rift Deepens as Strike Fallout Sparks Threats And Cancellations
The ongoing conflict between Genshin Impact’s English voice cast and its developer HoYoverse shows no sign of fading, even after the wider SAG-AFTRA video game strike was paused. What began as a stand for stronger protections against unapproved AI use has grown into a messy rift marked by recasting, withheld performances, and bitter clashes among voice actors themselves.
SAG-AFTRA, the union representing thousands of performers in film, TV, and games, struck video game companies for months in 2024 and 2025 to demand better wages and safeguards against AI replacing human voices without consent. In June 2025, the union announced a tentative agreement with major studios and paused the strike.
But Genshin Impact, developed by China-based HoYoverse, is not a union signatory, so several actors have kept up their independent work stoppage while others continued recording. This split has erupted into public threats, legal warnings, and calls for blacklisting that have shocked fans and industry observers alike.
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SAG-AFTRA Deal Leaves Some Genshin Actors Unsatisfied
When SAG-AFTRA revealed it had secured what it called the best and final deal from video game companies, some performers celebrated improvements in pay and limited AI protections. Others argued the agreement fell short and lacked clear language to prevent studios from cloning voices without explicit consent.
Several Genshin Impact voice actors had already pledged not to record lines until HoYoverse signed an interim agreement with similar protections. Erika Harlacher-Stone, who voices Venti, publicly said she would only return to the role once the politics was clearer.
“So, I wasn’t able to figure things out for the 5.6 (version) – the politics as an actor are very annoying – but I’ll be back soon,” she commented on TikTok.
In contrast, actors like Corina Boettger, who voices Paimon, confirmed they continued recording during the strike through non-union studios while at the same time calling out voice actors for working during the strike. Boettger pointed out that Genshin Impact was never a union production to begin with, so she believed she wasn’t violating union rules.
“For the past year now I have been the only actor in Genshin working at a separate studio, and that studio is not struck against. I can work on non-union stuff that did not used to be SAG because if it was SAG before and I still continued to work on it being non-union then, yes, that would be a scab project,” Boetteger said in a TikTok video.
She also added that she was disabled and needed the income to pay for medical bills and to avoid becoming homeless.
HoYoverse Recasts And Leaves Roles Silent
HoYoverse has made few official statements about the dispute. Instead, the studio has quietly recast characters or left roles temporarily unvoiced. One confirmed example is Kinich, whose English voice actor John Patneaude stopped recording and was replaced by Tokyo-based Jacob Takanashi.
The backlash on social media was immediate and fierce. Takanashi faced an onslaught of comments calling him out for presumably stealing Patneaude’s livelihood and turning his back on fellow voice actors. In response, Takanashi pointed out that he had never been a part of SAG-AFTRA and that he wasn’t even aware of the situation when he accepted the role.
As the dispute between voice actors and Genshin has dragged out, players have noticed missing lines or new voices for characters introduced in recent updates. Some fear that more roles could be recast if no agreement is reached. So far, there is no sign that HoYoverse intends to negotiate a formal interim deal with SAG-AFTRA or the striking actors.
The result has been uneven dialogue and mixed reactions. Some players accept temporary changes as necessary to keep the game on schedule. Others argue the inconsistency breaks immersion and shows disrespect for the original cast’s work.
Fallout Among Cast Members Turns Personal
The deeper fallout has come not from the studio but from inside the voice acting community itself. Actors who stayed away from recording have labeled colleagues who kept working as scabs, even though the project is non-union. Screenshots of private messages and posts show calls for fans to boycott, cancel, or shame those who continued to record.
Erika Harlacher-Stone publicly claimed that SAG-AFTRA threatened her with legal action for seeking side work while refusing Genshin Impact sessions. She described feeling caught between wanting to support the strike and needing to make a living.
“I think so. SAG has been sending threatening letters so it’s been very difficult to navigate but they were rude to me and I’m sick of this shit,” Stone commented on Reddit when asked if she would come back to work for Genshin.
Stone did subsequently join the cast again as Venti for the 5.7 update scheduled for June 18 this year in the US. Other performers, like Allegra Clark who provides the voice for Beidou in Genshin Impact, have echoed concerns about possible blacklisting if they defy union expectations or speak up about how the strike was handled.
Fans Split as The Dispute Unravels
For players, the drama has added an uncomfortable layer to a beloved game. Some support the actors who want clearer AI rules and fairer contracts. Others say that harassing or threatening colleagues for working crosses a line and damages the industry’s reputation.
Meanwhile, HoYoverse continues to release regular updates, leaving parts of the cast in limbo. As new events and characters appear, players will be listening closely to see which voices remain, which ones change, and whether the studio and its performers can repair the damage.
For now, the conflict over AI protections and union loyalty has become more than a labor issue – it has exposed fault lines in how voice actors balance personal ethics, community expectations, and the reality of paying bills in a rapidly changing industry.
The Genshin Impact – Blessing of the Welkin Moon DLC live key for Xbox is available via Eneba.
