A voice actor from Genshin Impact has been recast due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors’ union strike, causing others to come out in support.
John Patneaude was the voice of Kinich in the free-to-play adventure from HoYoVerse, but in a statement shared on social media they revealed they have been recast due to the strike over AI protections.
“I’ve been withholding voice-over services during the SAG-AFTRA Interactive Strike because Hoyo/Cognosphere wouldn’t offer AI protections in the form of a SAG Interim Agreement,” they said. “They’d kept my character’s dialogue silent for months, all the while I had made the difficult decision to continue not going in until an interim agreement was signed and this ultimately was why I was recast.”
They continued: “Now obviously, a recast is not what I wanted. I’d hoped that any progress behind the scenes would be made and I could come back safely, or that if recast auditions went out my colleagues wouldn’t read for them. Unfortunately, I was wrong.”
Patneaude described Genshin Impact as a “comfort game during the early parts of the pandemic” and called the role a “dream”.
“I would and can return if Hoyo invites me back and signs an interim,” they concluded. “I stand by my choices regardless of the outcome. Also, the strike is still ongoing – please don’t believe disinformation on the internet.”
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— john patneaude is really tired, ok? (@JohnPatneaude) March 26, 2025
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Earlier this month, the actors’ union stated the strike would continue due to “alarming loopholes” allowing for “AI abuse”. Negotiators on behalf of the bargaining video game companies, meanwhile, stated “meaningful progress” had been made.
Following Patneaude’s recasting, other voice actors from Genshin Impact have come out in support.
Paimon voice actor Corina Boettger has been particularly vocal, stating on social media: “There is a HUGE difference when you take the role of an actor who is striking for AI protections. You are no castmate of mine.”
Replying to a response asking what to do in Hoyo’s shoes, Boettger said: “I would sign the SAG interim agreement so that all my actors can have AI protections and then they could come back right away to voice these characters with no gap.”