Microsoft has introduced its latest AI efforts which are capable of generating character dialogue, and it's got voice actors fearing for the future of the industry.
On November 6, Microsoft announced it had partnered with Inworld AI to develop an AI toolset for its studios that will "empower creators in dialogue, story & quest design." The new toolset will help developers generate things like scripts, dialogue trees, quests, character dialogue, and more - threatening roles in the industry like writers and voice actors. Understandably, some voice actors have already voiced how problematic this could be.
Elias Toufexis, who is mainly known for their role as Adam Jensen in the Deus Ex series and Sam Coe in Starfield, has tweeted their frustration over Microsoft's announcement, saying: "I've said it for years now. If you want to start a voice-acting career, don't bother." The actor continues: "All those jobs of nameless background NPCs that gave us all our start in the industry… they're all going away. I'm already bitter."
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I’ve said it for years now. If you want to start a voice-acting career, don’t bother. All those jobs of nameless background NPCs that gave us all our start in the industry …they’re all going away. I’m already bitter. https://t.co/nntANdSV61November 7, 2023
This is scary. Recording NPC’s is how many voice actors cut their teeth in this industry. This will make it even harder for new talent to break into video games (which tbh can already be pretty difficult to begin with).I’m worried for game devs and writers as well :/ https://t.co/fH2IrJGnLnNovember 7, 2023
Shelby Young, who recently played Hami in Horizon Call of the Mountain and various characters in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, also shared their concerns with Microsoft's plans: "This is scary. Recording NPC's is how many voice actors cut their teeth in this industry." The tweet continues: "This will make it even harder for new talent to break into video games (which tbh can already be pretty difficult to begin with). I'm worried for game devs and writers as well."
This news has got to be hugely disappointing and alarming for video game developers, writers, and voice actors alike. It's especially disheartening considering how much praise an NPC conversation in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 received just recently. Shortly after the Insomniac sequel's release, the internet collectively agreed that Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has one of the best pieces of NPC dialogue ever - a conversation that may not have existed without the use of real actors and writers.
Speaking of Elias Toufexis, the actor recently revealed they failed an audition to play their own character in Deus Ex.
