Darkest Dungeon Studio Refuses AI Replication of Late Narrator’s Voice
Red Hook Studios, the development team behind the Darkest Dungeon series, has taken a principled stand against using generative AI to replicate the voice of the late narrator Wayne June. June, whose deep and somber vocal delivery became an iconic hallmark of the franchise, narrated every perilous dungeon crawl and crushing defeat players experienced. After June passed away in January 2025, discussion arose within the community about how the studio might preserve his legendary narration for future content.
According to the studio, Wayne June proactively offered in his final email to allow the team to use AI to train on his voice recordings. He hoped this would provide a way for the game to continue delivering his signature narration for players. Despite this generous gesture from the actor himself, studio director Tyler K. Braga firmly declined the proposal. Braga stated that he would never use a machine to imitate June’s voice, emphasizing that doing so would erode the irreplaceable quality of the actor’s classic performances.
Braga explained that June’s voice and delivery were filled with human warmth, and having the privilege of writing lines for him was a career highlight. He argued that this human artistic achievement should not be replicated by algorithms. The studio’s decision stands in contrast to industry practices by other developers — CD Projekt Red used AI to replicate a deceased Polish voice actor for Cyberpunk 2077, and Epic Games employed AI to recreate James Earl Jones’ Darth Vader voice for Fortnite.
Red Hook Studios’ firm stance represents a defense of the actor’s artistic dignity and reflects a broader respect for human value within the gaming industry. While AI technology now makes it relatively easy to recreate a deceased performer’s voice to continue iconic roles, the studio has opted to preserve the uniqueness of June’s contribution rather than commodify it. This decision raises an interesting question for the industry: as AI tools become more accessible, where should developers draw the line between preserving a legacy and respecting an artist’s humanity?
