The studio behind Cyberpunk 2077, has just released a new DLC called Phantom Liberty. And here’s something quite fascinating – they’ve used AI technology to recreate the voice of a beloved actor who unfortunately passed away. The actor in question is Miłogost “Miłek” Reczek, who voiced Doctor Viktor Vektor in the Polish version of the original game.
In Cyberpunk 2077, nearly all the characters are technically cyborgs. The developer has also added several celebrity cameos in the game to amp up the glamour quotient. However, in a unique scenario, there’s this incredible use of voice-cloning technology where one voice actor takes on the role of another after the unfortunate passing of the second actor.
Victor Vector’s voice replicated in Cyberpunk 2077 using AI
In the main game, Vektor’s voice is brought to life by Miłogost Reczek, a Polish talent who also lent his voice to characters like Vesemir and Thaler in CD Projekt’s Witcher games. Sadly, Reczek passed away in 2021 while Phantom Liberty, the expansion, was still being developed. According to Bloomberg, CD Projekt initially considered hiring a new voice actor to re-record all of Vektor’s lines.
However, instead of replacing Reczek completely, the studio decided to only record the additional dialogue for Phantom Liberty. They hired an actor to record the additional lines for the expansion and then used an amazing voice-cloning software called Respeecher to modify the dialogue. The end result made the new lines sound like they were voiced by Reczek’s Viktor Vektor character.
The developer reached out to Respeecher, a startup based in Kyiv, to utilize their voice cloning technology. The team sought permission from Miłek’s family to create an algorithm that could mimic Miłek’s voice. This algorithm was then used by another actor, Janusz Zadura, to record Viktor Vektor’s new dialogue, imitating Miłek’s speaking style.
Viktor’s Polish voice will be generated by AI in Phantom Liberty
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It’s amazing how the Reddit community is abuzz with this topic. AI has definitely stirred up some excitement and controversy in the video game industry. A lot of voice actors have expressed their concerns about AI’s ability to clone their voices. Similarly, AI will simply become another tool in our arsenal for enhancing productivity and game development.