The indie action RPG Luminous recently became embroiled in a controversy over alleged AI voice acting. Creative Director Keith Kolod subsequently clarified that the game did not use AI; the voice in question belonged to his wife, Mikell, marking her first time doing voice work.
Luminous entered Early Access on Steam on August 11. Developed by Refractive Entertainment, it is an action-adventure sandbox game with resource gathering elements, described as blending the art styles of Fable and Immortals Fenyx Rising. The game currently has nearly 350 reviews on Steam, with an overall rating of "Mostly Positive."
On September 10, a player posted a negative review after playing for 0.4 hours, praising the visuals but criticizing the "terrible AI-generated voice acting" for ruining the experience, suggesting the game felt like it was made using AI. The development team quickly responded, clarifying that the character was not voiced by AI, but by Kolod's wife.
Kolod stated that Mikell is not a professional voice actor and was quite nervous during recording. The character is a calm deity who needs to convey a sense of having repeated the same lines for centuries. They broke the dialogue into shorter sentences and completed the final version after multiple takes. Mikell was initially reluctant to participate, worried that her performance might negatively impact the game, but ultimately agreed to help her husband see the project through.
Kolod further explained that voice acting was a way for him to leave a part of himself and his loved ones in the work, which is why he did not use AI in the game. On September 11, he publicly shared this negative review, questioning why people automatically assume independent games with audio quality below AAA standards are AI-generated. He also thanked players who appreciated Mikell's portrayal of the "Temple Guardian."
The game originally stemmed from Kolod's desire to play with his wife and son. As a fan of the Souls series and Elden Ring, he wanted to create a title that was less punishing, allowing new players to experience action RPGs. Refractive Entertainment consists of only two members, with no publisher or external funding.
On August 25, Kolod mentioned that Luminous sold over $100,000 in its first week after launch, resulting in approximately $70,000 in revenue for the team after Steam's cut. While the voice acting controversy brought more views, interactions, and wishlist additions, he noted that this attention has not yet translated into a proportional increase in sales.