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Some video game actors are letting AI clone their voices. They just don't want it to replace them

Video game studios pay professional actors to voice the soldiers, goblins, elves and aliens that populate virtual worlds.

If you are battling a video game goblin who speaks with a Cockney accent, or asking a gruff Scottish blacksmith to forge a virtual sword, you might be hearing the voice of actor Andy Magee. AI voice clones don’t have the best reputation, in part because they’ve been misused to create convincing deepfakes of real people — from U.S. President Joe Biden to the late Anthony Bourdain — saying things they never said. But he understands why studios might want them as they try to scale up game franchises such as Baldur’s Gate and Starfield where players can explore vast, open worlds and encounter elves, warlocks or aliens at every corner.

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