CD Projekt has utilized artificial intelligence to modify the voice of Jacek Rozenek, the Polish voice actor for Geralt of Rivia, for the upcoming Songs of the Past expansion of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The studio worked with synthetic speech company Respeecher to adjust Rozenek’s current vocal performance to match his original recordings from over a decade ago.
Rozenek provided the voice for Geralt in all previous Polish-language Witcher releases. His performance in the role is widely regarded by fans and critics. However, a stroke in 2019 significantly altered his speech. While he rehabilitated enough to record new lines for the game’s next-gen update in 2021, the process was exhausting and left his voice noticeably different.
Restoring the Original Vocal Tone
The Songs of the Past expansion is set during the timeline of The Witcher 3. This narrative placement required the voice of Geralt to remain consistent with the character’s appearance in the base game. Rozenek’s post-stroke voice has become lower and gruffer, creating a disconnect with the established character voice.
With Rozenek’s explicit permission, CD Projekt engaged Respeecher to rework his voice. The actor continues to provide the performance, but the AI technology adjusts the audio to sound like his voice from twelve years prior. Dmytro Vasylets, a synthetic speech artist at Respeecher, described the goal as making the voice sound alive, rich, and young.
Vasylets noted that the process required dozens of hours of training and model refinement. The team had to address AI artifacts and capture the full emotional range of the performance, including shouts, groans, anger, fear, and laughter. The studio aimed for the highest possible audio quality to ensure the modification was seamless.
A Special Case for Voice Technology
Rozenek expressed strong support for the decision. He stated that he feels very good about returning to the role because of his deep familiarity with the character. He emphasized that the point of the AI treatment was to make his voice as close as possible to his voice from 12 years ago. He cited great trust in the creators of the game.
CD Projekt has previously used Respeecher for similar purposes. The studio used the technology to reproduce the voice of Miłogost Reczek, who portrayed Viktor Vektor and Vesemir in the Polish releases of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3. Reczek died in 2021, and CD Projekt obtained the family’s blessing to use an AI recreation of his voice in that instance.
The use of generative AI in voice acting remains a contentious issue in the industry. Voice actors have fought to maintain control over their likenesses and vocal performances. CD Projekt has expressed ambivalence about the technology. Localization producer Mikołaj Szwed told Game File that using AI for voice actors is a big concern for the studio.
Szwed clarified that the Rozenek situation was a special case driven by health problems. The studio is not planning to use similar technology for Doug Cockle, the English voice of Geralt. Rozenek’s voice will also not be altered in any hypothetical future Witcher games set later in the timeline, as the vocal change would be acceptable in those contexts. The modification was necessary only because the expansion requires the voice from 12 years ago to exist alongside the current timeline.
Source: PC Gamer
