The Wild Rift and League of Legends communities are upset Riot Games seemingly used AI voiceover for the reveal video of new champion Sivir on Nov. 23. Later on, though, it was revealed on Nov. 24 that the voiceover was done by an actual voice actor instead of AI.
“The voice actor tweeted (and has since deleted) saying their voice was heavily edited and they were given no direction,” LEC play-by-play caster Aaron “Medic” Chamberlain wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Medic was one of the people who criticized the voiceover done for the announcement.
What mainly caught the attention of players is the fact the narrator pronounces the champion’s name as “severe” instead of “Sivir.”
The conversation around the narrator completely overshadowed Sivir’s Wild Rift release—at least on X. The response from the community was so negative that players were quick to call Riot a “cheap” company and described the reveal video as “cringe,” but it turns out this impression was wrong, at least as far as the source of the voiceover was concerned. You can see what the voice actor said below.
Beyond the quality concern, the growing use and ubiquity of machine-generated content in the gaming industry made many in the community jump to the conclusion that it might have been used in this case as well. It can be used as an alternative to cut expenses and get the work done at a faster pace, sometimes in a positive manner.
Dot Esports reached out to Riot for comment before the original publication of the article.
Update Nov. 24 8:51am CT: This article has been updated after learning Riot didn’t use AI for Sivir’s announcement as the community initially thought, but an actual voice actor. We regret the error.
Update Dec. 1, 12:13am CT: Riot has since responded to player criticism over the ‘botched’ voiceover on the official LoL: Wild Rift Twitter account on Nov. 30. In Riot’s response, the company explained it believes its lack of direction for the voice actor is the reason why the VA mispronounced Sivir’s name. In the future, Riot plans to ensure this never happens again and believes this mistake is on the company and not on the voice actor.
