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Several Genshin Impact voice actors aren’t getting paid
Despite the enormous financial success of the game, several Genshin Impact voice actors claim that they are not being paid. According to statements from several voice actors involved in the project, the game’s developer, HoYoverse, is allegedly underpaying its voice actors, and sometimes not even paying them at all.
Two voice actors have come out publicly to share their experience with the studio in Twitter. Corina Boettger, the voice behind the popular NPC named Paimon, says the studio owes her thousands, and Brandon Winckler (who lends his voice to several minor roles) has shared a similar story after finally deciding to leave the production.
“After a fifth unanswered email, this is regarding Genshin Impact. It is inexcusable that we as actors are waiting over 4 months to get paid when you make $86 million a month. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon problem.”
Boettger spoke on the situation with a Twitter thread own, stating that it hasn’t been paid in “months”, before adding: “Just to be clear, we don’t know if this is the fault of the studio or the game company. But anyway, if the game was unionized, this wouldn’t happen.”
“It’s really hard to justify working on something for the job itself when you can’t afford to eat,” they tweeted. “Many non-union productions have this problem, I have waited 4-8 months to get paid, and even then, not much is being asked. 1,000 here, 500 there, and it adds up quickly.”
After a fifth email with no response, This is regarding Genshin Impact. Inexcusable for us as actors to be waiting 4+ months for pay when you make $86 million per month. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon problem- (thread)
—Brandon Winckler (@BWincklerVA) July 13, 2023
Both actors have suggested that a game as big as Genshin Impact should be a unionized project to ensure that voice actors are treated fairly and paid on time, especially given the financial success of the game – it’s reported that Genshin Impact brought in a total of $3.7 billion from 2020 to 2022 alone, and Winckler has estimated that the game earns approximately $86 million per month.
Although Boettger appears to remain employed at the studio, Winckler made the decision to seek employment elsewhere.
“Personally, I won’t be working on this game again unless it goes under a union contract,” Winckler said of his decision to leave Genshin Impact. “I don’t have much to lose with this choice, and if I’m lucky, I hope others will at least see where I’m coming from with that choice.”
