The use of AI in video games continues to stir controversy, and Horizon series actor Ashly Burch has spoken out about the leaked internal Sony video featuring a generative AI version of Aloy.
Experimentation with AI in the video game industry remains contentious. Horizon series actor Ashly Burch addressed the leaked internal Sony video featuring a generative AI version of Aloy that surfaced last week. She took to TikTok to discuss the video, which depicts her in-game character without using her performance. Horizon developer Guerilla has stated that the tech demo does not reflect anything in active development. However, Burch expressed concern that the video exists at all.
The controversy stems from a report by The Verge last week, which opened the discussion about the internal Sony video featuring an AI-generated Aloy. The video, now deleted, reportedly showed Sony Interactive Entertainment’s director of software engineering, Sharwin Raghoebardajal, conversing with an AI-powered Aloy using voice prompts and AI-generated speech and facial animations. Raghoebardajal asked Aloy how she was doing, to which she responded: “Hello, I’m managing alright. Just dealing with a sore throat. How have you been?”
The voice in the video is clearly not Burch. Instead, it resembles a robotic text-to-speech generator or GPS software. Triple-A titles like the Horizon games are known for having actors perform full motion capture, ensuring realistic character movement and dialogue. In contrast, the AI-generated Aloy’s facial movements in the video appear stiff, and her eyes lack expression.
Burch, who voices Aloy in all four Horizon games (Zero Dawn, Forbidden West, Call of the Mountain, and Lego Horizon Adventures), confirmed she had seen the video. Her discussions with Guerilla also confirmed that the developers did not use any of her performance capture—whether facial or vocal—in creating the AI-generated Aloy. Burch said the AI-generated video left her feeling “worried about game performance as an art form” and used it as a launching point to discuss the ongoing video game voice actors’ strike, which has affected several high-profile projects in recent weeks.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) continues to negotiate for AI protections for video game actors. The union issued an update around the same time the video leaked, outlining its demands. “Currently, what we’re fighting for is: you have to get our consent before you make an AI version of us in any form, you have to compensate us fairly, and you have to tell us how you’re using this AI double,” Burch said.
Burch expressed her support for the ongoing strike negotiations and said she hopes future actors will have stronger protections. She clarified that she does not “blame Guerilla” or “the technology” itself but is concerned about game companies looking to use it. She also outlined the current, temporary protections for voice actors. The use of generative AI in gaming continues to receive mixed reactions, raising the question of why companies persist in experimenting with it.
