Bayonetta 3 has been in development for a long time. The game was initially revealed to be in development at The Game Awards back in 2017, but it didn’t receive a new trailer until many years later. Fans of the Umbra Witch and her stylish character-action games have had to wait a long time to see the third installment in her trilogy, but Bayonetta 3 is finally almost here as it is set to be released as a Nintendo Switch exclusive on October 28. However, recent news from Bayonetta’s long-standing voice actor, Hellena Taylor, claimed that she had been offered an “insulting” amount of compensation for her role in the game, which is why she had decided not to work on it. Now, her replacement, Jennifer Hale, has spoken on the issue as well.
Jennifer Hale is a prominent voice actor in video games, and players may remember her from roles in games like the Mass Effect series. She released a statement to discuss the issues surrounding the voice acting of Bayonetta 3.
“As a longtime member of the voice acting community, I support every actor’s right to be paid well and have advocated consistently for this for years. Anyone who knows me, or has followed my career, will know that I have great respect for my peers, and that I am an advocate for all members of the community. I am under NDA and am not at liberty to speak regarding this situation. My reputation speaks for itself. I sincerely ask everyone to keep in mind that this game has been created by an entire team of hard-working, dedicated people and I hope everyone will keep an open mind about what they’ve created,” she continued. Finally, I hope that everyone involved may resolve their differences in an amicable and respectful way.”
A few days ago, Bayonetta’s original voice actor, Hellena Taylor, released a collection of videos on her Twitter account to discuss why she was not returning to the third entry in the series. In the videos, she mentions that she had to audition for the role, despite having done it multiple times in the past, and then she was offered a low rate of just $4000 for her entire time on the game. As a result, Taylor has not returned to voice Bayonetta in Bayonetta 3, and instead, called on fans to boycott the title and donate their money to charities instead of spending it on the game. Soon after, Hideki Kamiya, a prominent developer and director at PlatinumGames, was forced to leave Twitter after backlash from fans.
Bayonetta 3 will be released exclusively on Nintendo Switch on October 28. The first two entries in the Bayonetta series are also currently available on the Switch.
