Replica Studios is an artificial intelligence (AI) voice technology company. The beta waitlist begins today for its synthetic voice plugin, AI Voice Actors for Unreal Engine. Replica will offer its advanced AI voice software for game developers to create more expressive in-game characters at scale. This is achieved by producing synthesized speech from scripts.
The software offers easy to use style filters that control the mood or emotion of the voice. Advanced controls allow the creator to fine-tune performance characteristics like pacing and intonation. Developers who join the beta waitlist will gain access to a growing library of more than 30 voices. The final product becomes available in Q1 2021.
More than 7.5 million developers use Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, making it one of the most widely used engines worldwide. Many developers suffer from the limitations of voice dialog in games due to the costs of managing talent. Inefficiencies in recording, editing and re-recording dialog further complicate the issue. Quick iteration and scalability of tools like Replica’s synthetic voice plugin will be game-changers for the industry. Studios large and small will save months of work. Replica Studios aims to make quality in-game voice more accessible, leveling the playing field for creatives.
The Unreal Engine is also making strides in verticals other than just game development. It has been used in Disney’s hit series The Mandalorian. It has also seen applications in automotive, architecture, education and training content, which can all be better served by AI voice software.
Replica Studios AI Voice Actors for Unreal Engine Features:
- Voice Library: audition from 30+ AI voices that range from expressive game characters to narrators and storytellers with a diverse range of accents and speaking styles
- Custom Voices: build unique character voices and styles
- Text to Synthesized Speech: enter a script and receive the synthesized speech as a complete audio file [within seconds]
- Voice Direction: leverage fine-tuned controls to apply moods, emphasis, pitch, sound effects and other characteristics where needed
- Local File Storage: capture multiple takes and access a history of saved dialog lines for future adjustments and iterations
To learn more and sign up for the beta waitlist, please visit www.replicastudios.com/unreal.
About Replica Studios
Formed by a group of deep learning engineers, designers, and software developers in Brisbane, Australia, Replica Studios now headquartered in the U.S. has set out to empower creative people globally with its voice AI platform. Since graduating from the Techstars Music accelerator in LA in 201, the company has launched an AI platform that replicates the human voice and leverages proprietary text-to-speech software to produce expressive speech.
Voice actor here. I have many thoughts about this.
AI voice work has improved and I can see smaller devs/lower budget games using this. That’s a bummer for smaller/less experienced voice actors who often are in indie games. Hell, some indie heavyweights will lose clients.
Bigger studios that make the switch might get ostracized, as they have the budget for high quality human voice actors, something AI can’t replicate just yet. Also, there are only 30 or so accents it says, whilst there are 250+ common human accents/dialects.
This will force the emphasis on boosting acting chops and focusing on commercial work and audiobooks more for voice artists.
It’ll make the field more competitive. Access was opening up and people were doing so, then HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER!!
I’m not mad that it exists. I’m curious to see how far it will go.