Venti to be unvoiced in Genshin Impact 5.6, but VA is confident about returning

HoYoverse is set to reveal the details around Genshin Impact 5.6 during a livestream today and fans are extremely excited about the game’s teased return to Mondstadt, its starting area. There will be some disappointment, though, as key characters will remain unvoiced in the English dub due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike and the politics surrounding it.

Erika Harlacher-Stone, the voice of Anemo Archon Venti, already stated on social media that the ‘tone-deaf bard’ will be muted during the upcoming version. “So, I wasn’t able to figure things out for 5.6 – the politics as an actor are very annoying – but I’ll be back soon,” Harlacher-Stone said in a TikTok comment.

She reassured fans that she has no intention of stepping away from the game or heard anything about being replaced, working actively to find a way to return to Genshin Impact.

Earlier this week, HoYoverse announced that three VAs were replaced in Zenless Zone Zero 1.7 after being muted for the last couple of versions. It’s important to note that such decisions aren’t taken by the developer, but by the recording studios it's working with — and these partners are different for all of HoYoverse’s games, leading to separate policies and approaches to the strike and its challenges.

Venti is one of Genshin Impact’s oldest and most popular characters, so changing his VA would certainly cause an uproar in the community. However, with the strike recently losing favor online due to union VAs verbally attacking non-union VAs, the community seems much more ready to accept replacements.