// PC GAMER — GAMING
CD Projekt used AI to modify the voice of Geralt's Polish actor after a stroke left it significantly changed: 'This was a special case'
Jacek Rozenek was the voice of Geralt in all previous Polish-language Witcher releases, and CD Projekt wanted to work with him again—but his voice is no longer a match.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Conversations about the ethical use of AI in game development are about to get a whole lot more difficult as Game File reports that CD Projekt worked with AI company Respeecher to modify the game's Polish voice actor for the upcoming Songs of the Past expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
The actor, Jacek Rozenek, voiced Geralt in the Polish editions of all the Witcher games, including The Witcher 3 and its two expansions, and the Game File report says his performances are highly regarded. But in 2019, he suffered a stroke that left him temporarily unable to speak; by 2021 he had rehabilitated enough to be able to provide some new lines for The Witcher 3's next-gen update, but the process left him "exhausted."
Still, he continued to train and was eventually able to return to work, and when CD Projekt decided to make a new Witcher 3 expansion it wanted him back for the role. But the stroke, and the passage of time, had left Rozenek's voice noticeably changed. Given that Songs of the Past will occur in the midst of The Witcher 3, that shift in tone—"lower [and] gruffer," according to Game File's Stephen Totilo—presented a problem.
So with Rozenek's permission, CD Projekt approached AI voice company Respeecher to rework his voice for the game. Rozenek is still providing the voice of Geralt in the Polish version of the expansion, but Respeecher is adjusting it to make him sound like he did a decade ago.
"The brief was simple: make Jacek’s voice sound alive, rich and young, like in the original game," synthetic speech artist Dmytro Vasylets said.
"Getting there took dozens of hours, training models, going through the details with the CDPR team, and dealing with AI artifacts that never fully disappear. The hardest part was Jacek’s emotional range: the half-tones, shouts, groans, anger, fear and laughter. Capturing all of that at the highest audio quality was the real challenge. I’d like to think we pulled it off."
Rozenek said he feels "very good" about returning to the role of Geralt because he's so familiar with the character; the issue was merely that his voice was different. Because of that, he's all in favor of the AI treatment: "The point is that this voice should be as close as possible to my voice from 12 years ago," he said. "I have great trust…for the creators of this game."
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.