A pair of voice actors for MiHoYo's Genshin Impact allege they haven't been paid in half a year. On Twitter, Corina Boettger (who voices Paimon) and Brandon Winckler (Nervous An) separately made statements about not being paid by the voice acting studio that handles the game's English dub.
Different voice acting studios handle the dub for Genshin impact depending on the region, and Formosa is responsible for North America's. The studio has also handled voice acting in games like Bayonetta 3, notably had its CEO Bob Rosenthal resigned this past April.
Boettger was vague on naming Formosa specifically, but was frank in saying they've "been working for MONTHS unpaid on a BIG project for a studio. I am owed THOUSANDS of dollars. I am struggling currently to pay rent because of this. This project has made BILLIONS."
The actor further noted that they were unsure where the blame lied for them and other actors not being paid. Regardless of who is at fault, they expressly said "if the game was union, this wouldn't happen."
Conversely, Winckler was more direct in calling out the studio. "Inexcusable for us as actors to be waiting 4+ months for pay when you make $86 million per month," he wrote. "I'm so sick of waiting 3+ months for payment for literally the BIGGEST video game project out there.
Along with Genshin, Winckler does voice work for MiHoYo's recently-released Honkai: Star Rail. English voice acting for that title is handled by Rocket Sound, which he's said does pay him on time.
But as a result of what's been happening with Formosa, he said he "personally won't be working on this game anymore unless it goes under a Union contract. [...] If I'm lucky, I hope others will at least see where I'm coming from with that choice."
Game Developer has reached out to Formosa, and will update when a response is given.
Update: Genshin Impact creator Hoyoverse issued a response to Sports Illustrated, stating the payment issues lie with Formosa, and calling on the studio to pay its actors.
"We truly regret to learn about the ongoing situation," wrote the developer. "We have made payments to our recording studio on time, and we immediately urged the studio to pay our voice actors from our past payment."
Hoyoverse further stated that it was seeking "alternative solutions" to ensure Winkcler, Boettger, and other affected actors receive their late pay. At time of writing, neither actor has provided an update on if Formosa has gotten back to them about payment.
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) https://t.co/BPBW3WibG9
— Brandon Winckler (@BWincklerVA) July 13, 2023