Cyberpunk 2077 resurrects voice of late actor in new DLC, thanks to AI

The Phantom Liberty DLC for Cyberpunk 2077, which was released last month, features a voice performance by an actor who passed away in 2021. Miłogost Reczek, who played the role of Viktor Vektor in the Polish version of the game, was brought back to life by AI voice cloning technology, with the consent of his family and as a homage to his talent.

The developer CD Projekt Red collaborated with Respeecher, a voice tech company from Ukraine that specializes in creating realistic voice transformations. Respeecher used another actor’s voice as a source and modified it to match Reczek’s voice, which was also heard in The Witcher series. CD Projekt localisation director Mikołaj Szwed told Bloomberg that Reczek was “one of the best Polish voice talents” and that they wanted to honour his legacy.

Respeecher is also known for its work on several high-profile Star Wars projects like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, where it used its software to make Mark Hamill sound like a young Luke Skywalker.

The use of AI in the entertainment industry has raised some ethical and legal issues, especially for actors who want to protect their rights and interests. Hollywood actors have recently voted for a strike authorisation to demand more safeguards and compensation for the use of their likenesses and voices. Video game actors are also facing similar challenges, as studios are increasingly relying on AI to create realistic characters and scenarios.