Neil Newbon says AI-driven voice acting breaks immersion and questions why studios do not return to real actors once a game becomes successful.

The use of artificial intelligence in video game development has remained one of the most divisive topics throughout 2025, and the debate shows no signs of slowing down. Neil Newbon, the actor behind Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, has now reignited the discussion by speaking out against AI-generated voice acting.

Newbon did not limit his criticism to abstract concerns. He pointed to specific examples, mentioning Activision’s use of AI-related solutions in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Embark Studios’ approach to voice work in Arc Raiders.

In an interview with PCGamesN, Newbon was blunt: “Screw AI in voice acting.” He stressed that the cost of recording voice lines is negligible compared to the overall development budget of a video game. While he understands why smaller teams might turn to AI due to limited resources, he believes this argument no longer holds once a title achieves major success.

According to Newbon, developers could easily revisit their games and re-record dialogue with live actors after the fact. He finds it baffling that studios rarely consider this option, even when a project has clearly proven profitable.

He also highlighted the professional impact of AI adoption, noting that many actors never consented to having their voices used to train such systems. From a creative standpoint, he finds the results dull and immersion-breaking, incapable of conveying genuine emotion, danger, or excitement, firmly placing AI voice acting in uncanny valley territory.

Larian Studios at the center of the generative AI controversy

Ironically, Larian Studios itself has become part of the broader AI debate. Swen Vincke, founder of the studio and director of Baldur’s Gate 3, confirmed that generative AI is being used during the development of Divinity, though only for ideation, presentations, concept art, and placeholder text. Even so, the decision has drawn criticism from parts of the community.

Source: 3djuegos