CD Projekt Red has confirmed it used AI to alter part of the voice work in The Witcher 3 expansion Songs of the Past. The studio ran Geralt’s new Polish lines through Respeecher’s voice technology so they sound closer to the 2015 base game, because the actor behind the role, Jacek Rozenek, has a different voice since suffering a stroke. As reported by VGC, Rozenek consented to the process.
How the process works
CDPR explained the approach to Game File. Rozenek recorded all of his new Songs of the Past lines in the studio as he always would, and the recordings then went to Respeecher to be matched against how he sounded in the base game. VGC reports that the AI tools were trained on his earlier Witcher 3 work, so this is a correction of an existing performance, not a synthetic replacement.
The reason is practical. Rozenek’s stroke in 2019 left him unable to speak, and VGC says he returned to voice acting in 2022 after hours of daily training. The recording session for the game’s next-gen update left him drained: “I was so exhausted after this recording,” he said. When CDPR brought him back for the expansion, the team judged that his voice had drifted too far from the version players heard a decade ago, and that new lines would clash with the original ones.
Localisation producer Mikołaj Szwed said the studio delivered all of Rozenek’s Witcher 3 lines to Respeecher. “They created an algorithm of his voice, based on his lines,” he said. Rozenek backed the idea, saying the aim is for the voice to be “as close as possible to my voice from 12 years ago”, and adding that he has great trust in the game’s creators.
CDPR’s ethical case
Szwed acknowledged the concerns around AI but argued this case is different. “I do think this is one of those ways where you can use AI ethically, with consent and also to do something good,” he said, and he stressed that the option came up only because of Rozenek’s health. The line he draws is consent: the actor performs, agrees to the processing and keeps the role, instead of being recast or replaced.
It isn’t the studio’s first run with Respeecher. VGC notes that CDPR used the company’s services for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, after Miłogost Reczek, the Polish voice of Viktor Vektor, died following the base game’s release. CDPR chose to create new lines with AI, with his family’s consent, instead of recasting. The Songs of the Past case differs in one respect: Rozenek is alive, still performing, and approved the result himself.
A sensitive moment for AI in games
The disclosure lands while studios face scrutiny over AI. VGC points to House House, developer of Big Walk, which confirmed it used AI late in development to help work through technical challenges and bugs. That admission followed a statement from the Independent Games Festival jury that it wouldn’t vote for a game that “uses generative AI in any capacity”. VGC also notes that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lost its Game of the Year award from The Indie Game Awards over generative art used as placeholders, some of which shipped in the final game before a patch removed it.
Those cases involve art and code, whereas the Witcher example concerns a named performer’s own voice, with consent. How audiences weigh the two will vary, and the report covers only Geralt’s Polish performance.
What we know about the expansion
According to CD Projekt Red’s press centre, Songs of the Past launches in 2027 as a paid expansion for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. It takes Geralt to Letten, a rural region with a dark secret beneath its surface, and the studio is co-developing it with Fool’s Theory. CDPR hasn’t announced a price or exact release date, and wishlisting is open on select platforms.
Did AI replace Jacek Rozenek as Geralt in Polish?
No. According to VGC’s report, Rozenek recorded all of his new lines himself, and the AI was applied afterwards to match their tone to his base-game performance. He consented to the process.
Is this the first time CD Projekt Red has used AI voice work?
No. The studio used Respeecher for Phantom Liberty, recreating the late Miłogost Reczek’s Polish voice for Viktor Vektor with his family’s consent. VGC describes the Witcher case as different because the original actor is still performing.
When does Songs of the Past come out, and what does it cost?
CDPR says it’s due in 2027 as a paid expansion on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2. No price or release date has been announced.
