According to leaks, many popular English voice actors for Liyue may not have voiced lines for Genshin Impact’s most popular event, the Lantern Rite. This event celebrates the Chinese New Year in-game and is one of the major recurring events players look forward to every year. With a great story starring the characters of Liyue, many rewards, and the promise of a free Four-Star character of their choice, players normally have a lot to look forward to.
However, due to ongoing strikes, the Lantern Rite may not be voiced in full this year since many of the voice actors are still contracted at Formosa Ocean Post. As part of the studios affected by the argument of whether AI should be allowed to replicate voice actors’ lines, work at the studios has been halted for voice actors and companies partnering on the side against the use of AI. With Formosa as one of the non-union companies that fall under the studios affected by the strikes, any VAs that are still contracted with the studio will have a tougher time getting lines in the game.
Unconfirmed Rumors About Missing Voicelines
Liyue characters that may not have voiced lines include Zhongli, Hu Tao, Kequing, Ganyu, Xingqui, Chongyun, Timaeus, Yun Jin, Gaming, Yelan, Beidou, Ningguang, Xiao, Qiqi, Yanfei, Yaoyao, and Xinyan. This leaves Xianglian, the new face Lan Yan, Ying’er, Baizhu, Chef Mao, and a Ferry Lady to be the only voiced characters for the English option in Genshin Impact. Characters that are newer and thus contracted to different studios such as the Natlan characters can be expected to be fully voiced. Corrina Boettger, the voice of Paimon, can also be expected to voice during the patch after the studio failed to pay them, thus allowing HoYoverse to move them to a different studio.
To enjoy the story properly this year, players will have to switch the languages to either Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. To learn more about the strikes, SAG-AFTRA continues to post updates about the current situation, and players can offer their support by signing petitions or voicing their arguments on social media to spur action.
