Ben Diskin, the voice actor who brought the “Blue Bomber” to life in 2019’s Mega Man 11, has stated on social media that he will not be returning for the upcoming game Mega Man: Dual Override.

Diskin claims that although he was given an offer by game publisher Capcom, he decided to decline his role reprisal over concerns over potential AI usage and working without a union contract.

The voice actor writes on Blue Sky:
“With a broken Blue Bomber heart, I am no longer the voice of Mega Man.

I was asked to return for Mega Man: Dual Override, but only on the condition I work without the protection of a union contract.”

He goes on to explain that he was assured that “there are full A.I. protections in place that guarantee in writing that [his] voice will never be used for A.I. development,” however, it was also made clear that “with certainty, from [Capcom], that the project will not go union.”

Diskin continues, stating that while he wants to believe “in his heart” that Capcom would never use his voice to train A.I., in his HEAD he’s “aware that basically every major corporation is looking to incorporate generative AI to save money.” Furthermore, he points out that “[t]he video game industry is facing record layoffs and huge amounts of uncertainty,” and that a union contract is necessary for him to feel safe.

He writes as an aside that he doesn’t belive it “makes sense to strike for over 11 months to get enforceable AI abuse protections and then turn right around and go back to work without them.”

Diskin then goes on to clarify that he was willing to work for a lower-budget union contract, and had hoped that Capcom would at the very least be willing to speak with SAG-AFTRA, but they ultimately could not come to an agreement.

The voice actor concludes by wishing the best for Mega Man: Dual Override, and hopes it beats the sales record that Mega Man 11 had set for the franchise in 2019.

At the time of this writing, Capcom has not publicly commented on Ben Diskin’s social media statement, or confirmed its details.

What are your feelings on major game publishers hiring actors without a union contract? Do you believe voice actors have reason to be concerned over their voices potentially being used to train AI? We want to hear your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to follow us on all of our social media pages!

Source: Ben Diskin

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