Over the weekend, voice actress Hellena Taylor shared details regarding the upcoming Bayonetta 3 and why she wasn’t coming back to voice the iconic character. She said that a final offer of $4,000 from Nintendo and developer Platinum Games was not enough given what she had put into the character up to this point. As the series of videos on Twitter went viral, it gained traction and brought up the topic of voice actors being underpaid and under-appreciated unlike what a Hollywood actor is. Back in 2016, the union representing many voice actors, the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, went on strike that lasted nearly a year. One of the big sticking points that were brought up was residuals, compensation for actors when sales of a game outperform expectations. Voice Actors decided to give up that fight in exchange for receiving bonuses based on the number of sessions they work. Many in the video game and voice-acting community came in support of Taylor. A new report has revealed new details about the situation.
Bloomberg reports that Platinum Games was determined to rehire Taylor, according to two people familiar with the situation. Platinum Games was looking to hire Taylor for at least five sessions, each paying about $3,00 to $4,000 for four hours in the studio. This would make the total for the game at least $15,000. Platinum Games said that in response, Taylor asked for a six-figures as well as residuals on the game. They declined and took auditions for a new actor. Platinum offered Taylor a cameo role in the game for the fee of one session, which she turned down.
Taylor said in an email that this account is “an absolute lie” and that Platinum was “trying to save their ass and the game.” Taylor stands by everything that she said in the video. “I would like to put this whole bloody franchise behind me, quite frankly get on with my life in the theatre.” Representatives for Platinum Games and Nintendo haven’t responded to requests for comment.