CD Projekt has released Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty Patch 2.02, which includes a number of quest and gameplay fixes as well as other general improvements.
13.10.2023 - 15:39 / pcgamer.com / Ai
As reported by Bloomberg, it's been revealed that CD Projekt used AI to replicate the voice of the late Miłogost Reczek, who voiced Night City's most reliable ripper doc, Viktor Vektor, in the base game's Polish localisation back in 2020.
Reczek built an extensive portfolio during his career, dubbing both games and movies in roles like the Speaker from Destiny 2, Carl Manfred from Detroit: Become Human, and Vesemir from The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. He died December 2021, aged 60.
CD Projekt's localisation director Mikołaj Szwed says they had considered hiring a new actor to retroactively dub over Reczek's work from the base game: «We didn’t like [that] approach … This way we could keep his performance in the game and pay tribute to his wonderful performance as Viktor Vektor.»
The studio obtained the blessing of Rezeck's family, who Szwed describes as «very supportive» of the decision, to use a voice-cloning AI named Respeecher—meaning CD Projekt likely hired a voice actor to record the character's new lines in Phantom Liberty, then altered it to match Rezeck's original performance.
The news comes among the backdrop of serious concerns about AI's role in the voice acting industry. Just earlier this month, SAG-AFTRA—a union covering a broad variety of acting and presentation professions, including voice actors—achieved a 98.2% yes vote to authorise a strike, should negotiations fall short.
«Throughout the negotiations, the companies have refused to offer acceptable terms … including wages that keep up with inflation, protections around exploitative uses of artificial intelligence, and basic safety precautions.» The strike's not officially on just yet, as the next round of negotiations fall at the end of September, but it's still been a major concern.
Still, from where I'm sitting, this use case seems pretty cut and dry from an ethical perspective. There was full consent from the family, the studio hired and paid a voice actor for the work, and it did so to preserve Reczek's original performance—not exactly a cynical attempt to cut corners or muscle talent out of the recording booth.
CD Projekt has released Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty Patch 2.02, which includes a number of quest and gameplay fixes as well as other general improvements.
I don't think I'm spoiling too much off the jump by saying that Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's endings are emotionally charged and more than a little bit devastating. It is also a natural gamer behavior to goof around in such moments, but as reported by VG247, CD Projekt Red seems to have anticipated players attempting to bork one such scene, inserting hidden dialogue to reflect their apparent death drive. Spoilers for Phantom Liberty ahead.
A new Bloomberg report reveals CD Projekt Red employed AI to recreate the voice of an actor that passed away after the game's release. Speaking to the outlet, CDPR said it reproduced the performance of Miłogost Reczek (who plays V's confidante and Ripper doc Viktor Vektor) for the recently released Phantom Liberty expansion.
CD Projekt Red might have stumbled a bit when they got Cyberpunk 2077 out the door and into the hands of the public. It was filled with bugs and poor optimization, which even prompted Sony to remove the game from their digital storefront for a period. However, the studio continued to work through the issues and delivered players with a series of patches to bring the game up to their standards. Now, the latest big update and expansion added a new area and content to take in. With that said, there was one obstacle developers had to figure out, and it was based on a deceased voice actor.
CD Projekt Red has used a combination of AI and a new voice actor to record new lines for a Cyberpunk 2077 character in Phantom Liberty.
CD Projekt turned to AI technology to replicate a Cyberpunk 2077 Polish voice actor who passed away in 2021.
If you've ever spoken to the ripperdoc character Viktor Vektor in the Polish localisation of Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion, you've been talking to a cyborg. Technically, of course, most characters in Cyberpunk 2077 are cyborgs, but in this case, I'm referring to one voice actor posing as another using voice-cloning technology, following the second actor's death.
Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty includes the voice of a deceased actor from the base game, replicated using an AI algorithm by developer CD Projekt Red for the DLC campaign. The technology was used to recreate the sound of the late Miłogost Reczek, who voices delightfully named ripperdoc Viktor Vektor in the base game, with the permission from his family.
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red used AI to recreate the voice of a deceased Polish actor for the Phantom Libery expansion, a new report revealed.
Cyberpunk 2077 publisher and developer CD Projekt used AI to recreate the voice of a deceased actor.
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt used AI to replace a deceased voice actor after gaining permission from the family.
To craft Cyberpunk 2077‘s immersive world, plenty of voice actors were necessary. CD Projekt Red ran into a problem when Miłogost Reczek, a Polish performer who did the Polish voice acting for Viktor Vektor, passed away in 2021. As revealed by Bloomberg, the studio overcame this setback with the help of artificial intelligence.