The Witcher 3’s New DLC Will Use AI to Make Geralt Sound Like His Younger Self

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is giving Geralt one last adventure more than a decade after release with its new DLC. Unfortunately, that gap has become a problem for Geralt’s original Polish voice actor.

Jacek Rozenek has played Geralt in Polish since the original Witcher game, including recording more than 10,000 lines for The Witcher 3. For many, he is the definitive voice for Geralt. But after suffering a stroke in 2019, his voice changed significantly during recovery.

Now that CD Projekt Red is bringing Geralt back for Songs of the Past, the studio wants Rozenek back too.

According to a new interview with Game File, Rozenek recorded all of Geralt’s new Polish dialogue himself. CDPR then partnered with AI voice company Respeecher to adjust those recordings so they sound closer to the Geralt players heard in 2015.

His acting, delivery, emotion, and timing remain intact, while Respeecher’s technology alters the vocal characteristics of the recording to better match his younger voice. With how hostile the attitude towards AI usage in games is, this situation falls into a moral dilemma.

Songs of the Past takes place around the same era as the original game, meaning newly recorded lines can play alongside dialogue Rozenek recorded more than a decade ago. CDPR Localization Producer Mikołaj Szwed said the actor’s voice is now noticeably lower and gruffer, which risks making those transitions sound jarring.

Rozenek approved the process himself, saying “The point is that this voice should be as close as possible to my voice from 12 years ago,” adding that he has “great trust” in the developers.

The technology comes from Respeecher, the same company CDPR previously worked with on Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Respeecher says it requires written consent before cloning an actor’s voice and uses speech-to-speech technology designed to preserve the original performer’s emotion and intonation.

Thankfully, CDPR itself describes this as a “special case” rather than a broader shift toward replacing actors with AI. English Geralt actor Doug Cockle, for example, is recording Songs of the Past normally without any AI adjustment.

Songs of the Past launches in 2027 and takes Geralt to the new region of Letten, with new quests, monsters, mutagens, and even a returning chain weapon. CD Projekt Red is co-developing the expansion with Fool’s Theory. The game is confirmed to be coming to PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

AI voice work in games is understandably controversial. Some might still argue that CD Projekt Red should look for an alternative voice actor despite the circumstances.

However, in this case, the actual actor still performed the role, gave permission for the technology to be used, and appears to see it as a way to keep playing Geralt rather than being replaced by him.