Polish studio CD Projekt Red used AI technologies from the Ukrainian company Respeecher to preserve the original sound of Geralt of Rivia in the new expansion "Songs of the Past" for the game "The Witcher 3." This allowed Polish actor Jacek Rozenek, whose voice changed after suffering a stroke, to return to the role without dissonance between the old and new lines.
As reported by Polygon, citing an interview with Game File, Jacek Rozenek has been voicing the protagonist of The Witcher series in Polish since the release of the first game in 2007. In 2019, the actor suffered a stroke and was unable to speak for several months. Despite lengthy rehabilitation and daily hours-long training, his timbre changed irreversibly — it became lower and hoarser.
CD Projekt Red notes that such a voice could suit an older Geralt in a future "The Witcher 4," but not for "Song of the Past." This expansion will be released in 2027, but its events unfold in the same era as the main game "The Witcher 3." New dialogues, reactions, and battle cries will be integrated directly into the base campaign, so the newly recorded lines will be heard alongside the old ones.
"We invited Jacek to our studios to hear how his voice sounds now. It was important for us to see how much he has changed — both over time and due to his health condition," explained CD Projekt localization producer Mikołaj Szwed.
To solve this problem, the studio, with the actor's consent, turned to the Ukrainian startup Respeecher, which specializes in AI-powered voice synthesis and cloning. The company's specialists will analyze 10,000 archival lines recorded for the main game in 2014. At the same time, Rozenek will personally record all the new dialogue, and Respeecher's algorithms will only adapt the timbre to his original sound, preserving the actor's intonation.
The actor himself supported the use of the technology. "I can play this role. Of course, it is very good that this voice will be brought into compliance," noted Jacek Rozenek. At CDPR, they emphasize that this is an example of the ethical use of AI in game dev, when technology helps the artist rather than replacing him.
Recall that the Ukrainian startup Respeecher already collaborated with CD Projekt Red in 2023. At that time, the team helped recreate the voice of the late Polish actor Miłogost Reczek for the role of ripperdoc Viktor Vektor in the Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion, having previously obtained permission from the artist's family.