Summary
Zenless Zone Zerohas a richcast of voice-acting talentacross both its Japanese and English VA teams.
However, in the game’s latest update, MiHoYo confirmed that two of the game’s English voice actors have been changed, and nobody is quite sure why.
Lucy And Soukaku Get New Voice Actors
Buried in the middle of the recentpatch notesis a simple comment that says, “Changed the English voice actors for Agents ‘Lucy’ and ‘Soukaku’ and replaced the corresponding voice lines.“MiHoYo/HoYoVersemade no further comment on the changes or references to them anywhere else in the game or on its website, nor has it named the new voice actors. This sudden change has led to speculation among the Zenless Zone Zero community.
While the identity ofSoukaku’soriginal voice actor hadn’t been revealed,Courtney Lin, known for roles in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Monster High, and Honkai: Star Rail, playedLucy.
Interestingly, on July 31, Lucy’s role in another MiHoYo game,Honkai: Star Rail, in which she playedHuohuo, was also recast. It’s unclear whether her roles inGenshin Impacthave also been replaced.
It’s speculated that the recent SAG-AFTRA strikes could be part of the reason for the changes. On July 26,video game voice actors began strikingover the use of AI and the worker protections surrounding it. This strike preventsSAG-AFTRA’s 160,000 membersfrom taking new roles in video game projects. The dates line up with these voice actor changes, given that Lin’s Honkai: Star Rail role was confirmed as recast on July 31. However, the terms of the strike do grant an exception for any game in developmentprior to August 2023, which both Honkai: Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero almost certainly are.
We’ve reached out to Lin and MiHoYo to see if they can comment on the changes.
Zenless Zone Zero
WHERE TO PLAY
Zenless Zone Zero is the next game from Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail creator Hoyoverse. An action RPG game with hack-and-slash mechanics, you play as a Proxy - battling to protect the city of New Eridu from the dimension-hopping Ethereal.
