Over the weekend, actor Helena Taylor said that Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya offered her a flat $4,000 to reprise the voice of Bayonetta in his next film, Bayonetta 3, which she turned down. Taylor's statement has now been refuted by two sources who spoke anonymously to Bloomberg (open in new tab).

According to Bloomberg's sources, "Platinum Games tried to hire Taylor for at least five sessions, paying her $3,000 to $4,000 for four hours at the studio each. If so, that would bring the total to at least $15,000. According to Bloomberg's sources, Taylor rejected the offer and "demanded a six-figure sum and compensation." In the end, Platinum hired prolific voice actress Jennifer Hale, best known for her role as Commander Shepard in "Mass Effect."

Taylor told Bloomberg that the source was "absolutely lying" and that Platinum Games was trying to save face. Platinum Games has not officially responded to Taylor's claims. (Except that Kamiya called Taylor's video "sad and deplorable" on Twitter and subsequently suspended his account temporarily.)

In 2016, voice actors represented by the SAG-AFTRA union, including Hale, went on strike to secure better compensation for the work of video game actors. As Bloomberg notes, they wanted to secure a handout in the form of bonuses when the games they appeared in were particularly successful. They didn't win the battle, but they did secure bonuses based on the number of sessions they needed to make the role; in 2020, SAG-AFTRA's contract with nine major game publishers was extended through November 7 of this year.

According to Bloomberg, three sources said that Platinum Games used union actors for "Bayonetta 3" and paid them at least the union's minimum wage (opens in new tab).

Now that there is disagreement over the offer presented to Taylor, the topic has shifted to the principle in question, which means mainly what people are saying on Twitter, that even voice actors who voice famous characters do not get paid exceptionally well. Whether Taylor is vindicated or not, the scenario she described is not unheard of. Another actor, Brian Dechert, said he was offered $4,000 (open in new tab) to play "the hero of the Triple A game."

Some may be surprised to learn that video game voice actors are paid per session and do not receive additional income from games that sell a lot or are later distributed on new platforms, as is the case when a TV show is syndicated or released on Blu-ray Some may be surprised to learn that they do not get additional revenue from games that sell a lot and are later distributed on new platforms, as is the case when TV shows are syndicated and released on Blu-ray. John Schwab, the voice of Dandelion in The Witcher games, told The Guardian

that he shares the frustration expressed by Taylor and other voice actors.

"You get paid thousands of pounds to play the lead role and that video game makes $700 million. How will I feel when I make up that role?"

Hale, the new voice of Bayonetta, was asked by a fan for comment after Taylor's video. She said Monday (open in new tab) that she could not speak openly about the situation because of the NDA, but has since retweeted several comments supporting Bloomberg's report.

A PC version of Bayonetta 3 for the Switch on October 28 has not been announced, but the name "Bayonetta 3" does appear on Nvidia's list that was leaked some time ago, although Nvidia more or less said the list means nothing, Several games on this list have since been released for the PC. Nevertheless, since "Bayonetta 3" is published by Nintendo, it would be a big surprise if it did.