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CD Projekt Red has partnered with voice technology company Respeecher to modify audio recorded by Polish actor Jacek Rozenek for Songs of the Past, an upcoming expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt due out next year. Rozenek, who has voiced Geralt of Rivia across every major Witcher release in Poland, suffered a stroke in 2019 that temporarily took away his speech and permanently altered the tone and texture of his voice. [1][2]
Because the new expansion takes place during the events of the original title, developers worried that Rozenek's current deeper, rougher delivery would clash with dialogue captured more than a decade ago. With Rozenek's consent, Respeecher trained AI models on his past performances to reshape his fresh recordings into a younger, smoother sound. Synthetic speech artist Dmytro Vasylets noted that replicating the actor's full emotional range while cleaning up audio artifacts required dozens of hours of work alongside the studio. [1][2]
CD Projekt Red emphasized that this project is an exceptional accommodation rather than a standard practice. Localization producer Mikołaj Szwed told Game File that the studio is not altering the audio of English Geralt actor Doug Cockle, nor does it plan to use AI modifications if an older Geralt appears in future games. The company previously collaborated with Respeecher to recreate the voice of the late actor Miłogost Reczek for Cyberpunk 2077's Phantom Liberty expansion with his family's approval. [1][2]
CD Projekt Red has revealed that it used - and is using - generative AI technology to treat and alter the voice of the Polish actor who portrayed Geralt of Rivia in upcoming Witcher 3 expansion Songs of the Past.
via Eurogamer
Jacek Rozenek was the voice of Geralt in all previous Polish-language Witcher releases, and CD Projekt wanted to work with him again—but his voice is no longer a match.
via PC Gamer