Lara Croft Voice Actress Alleges Aspyr Used AI for Her Voice in Tomb Raider Remasters
Françoise Cadol, the acclaimed French voice actress known for her portrayal of Lara Croft in several Tomb Raider titles, has accused publisher Aspyr of using artificial intelligence to recreate her voice in the recently released Tomb Raider IV–VI Remastered collection without her permission. This accusation has ignited a debate among fans and the industry regarding the ethical use of AI in gaming.
According to an interview with Le Parisien, Cadol revealed that it was the vigilant fan community who first alerted her to the issue. “Players who purchased the game quickly realized that Lara Croft's instructional lines didn't sound like my voice. This observation sparked a significant outcry within the fan community,” Cadol stated. Fan posts suggest that the AI-generated voice lines appeared following the second patch for the collection. This patch notably listed “restored lines that were originally missing from the Steam build” among its changes, which fans believe corresponds to the AI-generated content.
Cadol’s legal counsel asserts that Aspyr did not reach out to his client for re-recording any missing lines, instead opting to rely on AI technology. The lawyer noted that the newly added dialogue has a “strong metallic undertone” and lacks the natural “intonation” expected from a human performance. Françoise Cadol herself views the attempt to replicate her voice using a neural network as a sign of disrespect towards both her and the dedicated fanbase. Her lawyer added, “It would have been reasonable to inform the public that the voice in the game was not Cadol’s.”
In response, the actress and her legal team have sent an official complaint to Aspyr. While initial reports suggested the aim was to halt sales of the remastered collection, it was later clarified on French television that the complaint specifically seeks the withdrawal of the update containing the AI-generated voiceovers.
This issue is not isolated to the French localization. Lene Bastos, who voices Lara Croft in Brazilian Portuguese, also reported concerns about strangely sounding lines in the collection. Aspyr representatives contacted Bastos on September 4th, offering an apology for the re-recorded lines. Their message openly admitted that a “third-party partner” made the changes and acknowledged that neural networks were involved in the problem. Aspyr has promised to remove these AI-generated lines within the next couple of weeks. It is anticipated that similar action will be taken for other affected localizations, including the French version, to restore the original voice recordings.
This incident highlights the growing tension surrounding the use of AI in creative industries. For players, it underscores the importance of authentic performances and the potential for AI to detract from the immersive experience when not handled transparently and ethically. As game developers increasingly explore AI, the rights of voice actors and the expectations of players are becoming critical considerations that publishers like Aspyr will need to address proactively.
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