Hoyoverse confirmed via Twitter that it’ll be recasting an English voice actor for Genshin Impact. The developer announced that it’s cut ties with actor Elliott Gindi due to a “breach of contract.”
In a follow-up tweet, Hoyoverse added that his character would be recast, and present and past voice lines would be re-recorded once a new actor was selected.
Games like Genshin Impact or Overwatch are popular for their characters as much as their gameplay. Part of the game’s appeal can just be in the characters themselves, and several voice actors have accrued fanbases from these roles.
Gindi provided the English voice for the character of Tighnari, and on February 7, he faced allegations of sexual misconduct with the game’s fans. One of his Twitch moderators published a 21-page Google document showing sexual exchanges with his fans (many underage) through channels such as Instagram and Discord.
The following day on February 8, Gindi himself confirmed that some of the allegations were true.
Following the initial allegations, and after Gindi’s confirmation, there was demand from the Genshin playerbase to recast the role of Tighnari. Several of the supporters behind that movement were Genshin voice actors themselves, including Allegra Clark (Beidou) and Alejandro Saab (Cyno).
Even Chris Faiella, the voice director for the game, called for Gindi’s firing. After learning of the allegations, he said he would use “what limited power I do have, to rectify this situation and will absolutely inform the folks at miHoYo.