Update (July 14, 2023): HoYoverse, the studio behind Genshin Impact, sent a statement to GamesRadar+ stating that it has paid Formosa, the recording studio responsible for paying performers, on time, and that it supports the performers' efforts to "claim fair compensation" from Formosa HoYoverse's full statement is as follows:

"It is with great regret that we have learned of this ongoing situation. Genshin Impact respects the work and efforts of all involved and supports the voice actors in claiming their rightful compensation. We have paid the recording studio on time, and we are urging immediate payment to the voice actors. In the meantime, we are exploring other solutions. We will keep everyone informed of any further developments."

PC Gamer has reached out to Formosa for comment.

Original Article Two voice actors for "Phantom of the Opera," one of the most profitable video games on the market today, have come forward claiming they have not been paid for their work for nearly six months.

Brandon Winkler, who has played numerous supporting roles and additional voices in HoYoverse's multi-billion dollar action RPG, first tweeted about the problems they have faced in recent months. They claimed that they had sent five emails to the company with no response, and tweeted, "It's unacceptable for an actor to wait over four months for a $86 million a month salary. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon problem."

They continued: "It's really hard to justify working on something for work when you can't even afford to eat. Many non-union productions have this problem, and I have waited four to eight months for payment, but still no big deal. A $1,000 here, $500 there, and it adds up quickly." The actor concluded by announcing that he would "personally no longer be involved in this game unless it is under a union contract."

About an hour after Winkler's thread, one of Genshin's most prominent voices also spoke out. Corina Boettger (the English voice of Paimon, the main character's companion and one of the heaviest spoken roles in the entire game) did not mention HoYoverse or Genshin's name in her initial tweet, but replies and retweets confirmed.

"Again... I've been working for months without pay on a big project for one of the studios. I owe thousands of dollars," they tweeted. 'I'm struggling to pay my rent because of this. This project is making billions of dollars. This project should be a union," Boettger clarified, "I don't know who exactly is to blame, HoYoverse or Formosa Interactive, for the English voice recordings for this game." But regardless, they tweeted, "If the game was union, this would not happen." In his reply, Boettger also stated that he has not gone to the studio to record "for the last two days" because of this situation.

As both Winkler and Boettger point out, their work on "The Phantom of the Phantom" is a non-union project and is not covered by the protections of the Screen Actors Guild. This can result in lower pay rates and, in the case of the two voice actors, difficulty in establishing payment dates. In replies to many tweets, especially Betgar's insistence that "all games be unionized," Formosa Interactive was also one of 11 companies called out as part of SAG-AFTRA's 2016-2017 video game voice actors strike.

Many fans have also defended Winkler and Boettger. One fan pointed out how big a role Boettger played as Paimon and tweeted, "How is this okay."[19] TheRedUsagiVO tweeted, "HoYoverse is a successful gaming company that makes billions of dollars every month from long and short term supporters." It's a shame we can't use some of that money to pay the voice actors who bring the game to life. Exposure alone is not enough to pay the bills."

Whether both HoYoverse and Formosa Interactive are to blame remains to be seen, but Winckler confirms that their complaints relate specifically to the latter, as well as HoYoverse and Formosa Interactive, Winckler and Boettger were also contacted for comment.