Genshin Impact voice actors speak out over "inexcusable" lack of pay
UPDATE: miHoYo responds, has "immediately urged" recording studio to sort situation.
UPDATE 4pm UK: Genshin Impact developer miHoYo has issued a firm response to news that several of the game's voice actors were still waiting to be paid for work completed months ago.
miHoYo's statement to Eurogamer suggests it is only learning of the situation now, and that the missing payments were the fault of a local recording studio which it has now "immediately urged" to sort the situation.
Indeed, miHoYo says it is now "also seeking alternative solutions" to resolve the matter - and presumably make sure it never happens again.
miHoYo's message to fans lies below in full:
"We truly regret to learn about the ongoing situation," a miHoYo spokesperson told Eurogamer. "Genshin Impact values and respects the work and effort of everyone involved, and we support our voice actors to claim their proper due. We have made payments to our recording studio on time, and we have immediately urged the studio to pay our voice actors. Meanwhile, we are also seeking alternative solutions. We will keep everyone posted on further developments."
ORIGINAL STORY 2pm UK: Voice actors behind the hugely successful Genshin Impact say they have been waiting months to be paid.
Several have taken the step of speaking out on social media to highlight the fact they are struggling without their pay cheques - while the gacha-driven game rakes in billions in revenue.
Corina Boettger, who voices key character Paimon, and Brandon Winckler, who provides various additional voices, both took to Twitter to express their exasperation at having recorded work over four months ago without receiving payment for it.
Winckler stated they had attempted to raise the issue with Genshin Impact publisher miHoYo multiple times but not heard back.
"A fifth email with no response," Winckler wrote. "[It's] inexcusable for us as actors to be waiting four plus months for pay when you make $86m a month."
In an earlier message sent this week before naming Genshin Impact and miHoYo specifically, Winckler called for developers to "pay your fucking actors on time".
"I'm so sick of waiting three plus months for payment for literally the BIGGEST video game project out there."
Winckler stated they "can't afford to eat", while Boettger said they were currently "struggling to pay rent because of this".
Eurogamer has contacted miHoYo for comment.
"Been working for MONTHS unpaid on a BIG project for a studio," Boettger wrote. "I am owed THOUSANDS of dollars... This project has made BILLIONS."
Genshin Impact voice actor Sean Chiplock, who portrays Diluc, suggested it may be that miHoYo was not the company at fault.
"Please remember that MiHoYo is the publisher, not the recording studio we work through," Chiplock wrote. "They may be just as unaware of this issue as the rest of you were, and the hope is that they can be MADE aware of how it's affecting their image - and through subsequent actions, correct it."