Genshin Impact’s voice actors Brandon Winkler and Corina Böttger recently revealed that they have not received any money from the game’s developer, HoYoverse.
Winkler, who voices characters like Kazuha’s friend and Nervous An, expressed her displeasure on Twitter. After sending a fifth email and receiving no response, Winkler took to social media to voice his displeasure, stating:
It’s unforgivable not to pay the actors’ salaries for 4+ months when you earn $86 million a month
In subsequent tweets, Winkler talked about the difficulties of working on the project, but not being able to afford the bare necessities due to delayed payment. He mentioned that this is a constant problem in non-union projects and they have waited 4 to 8 months for payment in the past. Despite their love of acting and the projects that these studios put out, they feel that a game of this magnitude should definitely be a union one.
Winkler concluded his theme by stating that if the game didn’t move to a union contract, then they wouldn’t continue working on it. They expressed the hope that others would understand their decision and sympathize with their predicament.
Corina Böttger, the English voice of Paimon’s character, echoed Winkler’s concerns in response to their tweets. She said she expects payment for sessions starting in December 2022 and is having difficulty meeting her rental obligations.
Böttger stated that she has been working for months without getting paid, which she considers an unacceptable situation. They supported Winkler’s words about the need for unions, stating that actors should be protected.
As of now, HoYoverse has yet to publicly respond to these allegations.
