Recent events have turned out to be a disaster for PlatinumGames as the voice behind Bayonetta raised concerns about voice talents not getting the proper wage and asking fans to boycott the next Bayonetta entry which is slated for release on October 28, 2022, on Nintendo Switch.
Hellena Taylor, mainly known for voicing Bayonetta and other projects such as The Golden Compass as Serafina, was reported that she was not reprising her role as the voice of Bayonetta in Bayonetta 3 due to “various overlapping circumstances” according to an interview with director Yusuke Miyata by Game Informer. Taylor has brought to Twitter her response and may have potentially broken a non-disclosure agreement between her and the studio.
In this first part of the video, Taylor revealed the exact reason why she’s not reprising her role as the voice of Bayonetta. With the Bayonetta franchise earning approximately $450 million USD (not including the merchandise sales), Taylor was only offered a flat rate of $4,000 USD for the entire project. Taylor sees this as an “insult”.
“The final offer to do the whole game as a buyout flat rate was $4,000 US dollars,” Taylor said in the first video. “This is an insult to me, the amount of time that I took to work on my talent and everything that I have given to this game…”
Taylor asked the fans to “boycott” Bayonetta 3 and encouraged the fans to donate the money they’ll pay for the game to charity instead.
Talyor continued to express her feelings toward the decision of PlatinumGames’ wage offer in the second part of the video, stating that she decided to stand up with talents who aren’t paid fairly for their work and how this can mentally affect them.
In the final video, Taylor further expounded on the events that took place starting from the audition to e-mailing Hideki Kamiya, one of PlatinumGames’ co-founders, citing how much she’s “worth” with all her work and experience after a disappointing offer that was given. Taylor called out PlatinumGames about its statement regarding not reprising her role due to “various overlapping circumstances.”
It’s been an issue in the video game industry wherein voice talents are paid way lower than what they’re really worth; and it’s disappointing that such a successful franchise like Bayonetta earned millions and the company can’t properly compensate the talent that brought one of the best video game characters to life. Publishers and studios should always care about their talents, properly compensating their work that greatly involves their mental and emotional welfare on the line to bring such great characters.