Genshin Impact has recast Tighnari with Zachary Gordon after the previous voice actor was accused of sexually harassing underage fans.
Zachary Gordon has quite the list on his IMDb page, although he is perhaps best known for playing Greg Heffley in Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Gordon has a significant presence in the world of video games as well, having played Hayner in Kingdom Hearts 3, Young Ravus in Final Fantasy 15: Kingsglaive, and various voices in Mafia: Definitive Edition.
Some of Gordon’s new lines have already made it to social media sites like TikTok and YouTube. A comparison video reveals Gordon’s take on Tighnari sounds more assertive, a little less wistful, and less excited to "gather some samples". Regardless, the consensus is that he sounds great overall, and you won't have to wait long to hear him in-game as the new Tighnari arrives with Genshin Impact’s 3.6 update.
If you're wondering what happened to the former voice of Tighnari, Elliot Gindi, he was fired after being accused of sexual harassment by multiple fans. The accusations surfaced in early February, with Gindi said to have requested nude photos of fans online. Some of whom were underage at the time, although Gindi denies ever knowingly requesting photos from anyone under the age of 18. A summary of the accusations was posted to Twitter alongside screenshots of the conversations he had with fans. Gindi admitted "all of the screenshots of the chat logs" were real, as well as "all the cringy sex talk."
At the time, fans called on Genshin developer HoYoverse to recast Tighnari, with voice director Chris Faiella assuring fans he was "doing everything" he could, "using what limited power" he had. About a week later, the official Genshin Impact Twitter account posted an update on the controversy.
"After communications with the voice recording agency, we hereby confirm that Elliot Gindi, the English voice actor for Tighnari will no longer be voicing the character in subsequent versions due to a breach of contract," wrote HoYoVerse. "We will gradually replace Tighnari's existing in-game voice lines, and issue these updates in the corresponding announcements."
From the looks of things, most of Tighnari's voice lines will be replaced by Gordon's recordings starting with update 3.6, which arrives tomorrow. And in case you missed it, HoYoverse has also announced its next game, Honkai: Star Rail, which will be heading to PlayStation sometime in the near future.