Are video game voice actors under or overpaid?

[StaceyPowers]

Do you feel video game actors make enough money? Too much? The right amount?

[Shagger]

I don't think anyone really has a right to decide whether or not video game VA's are paid enough or not unless they have actually done that sort of work themselves. I will say this, though. Do you think VA's in video games are paid enough to compare with their colleagues in Hollywood doing voice overs for animated movies even though video games typically require far more recorded dialogue? I can tell you that based on interviews and exposés published on the subject that they most definitely don't.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Shagger

[The Blackangel]

I would have to know what the average pay, and what they're making across the entire spectrum is before I could say. I mean if the average for a game actor is $100 per hour, and the actors at a particular studio are making $75 per hour, then they are getting underpaid. However if they're making $200 per hour, then I want their job, as they're making twice the going rate. At one point Kaley Cuoco was being paid one million per episode of The Big Bang Theory. That is a gross overpayment. But apparently she's cute(?!) so she was able to negotiate it. None of the other actors made even close to that.

[killamch89]

I'm not really sure how to approach this one because there are so many factors that govern the pay of a voice actor that it's difficult to accurately say if they being paid too much or too little. Also, it depends what their employees are looking for in that voice actor.

[m76]

Compared to hollywood actors they are probably underpaid, but compared to the average job holder, I think they are more than fairly compensated. But it's not as if I'm privy to their salaries.

[Empire]

Games or big titles games are going up in price more and more then ever before. Meaning GTA 6 is bigger and looking or expecting to be over $80 to $120. I honestly don't care how much they pay, since I'm not footing the bill, but the most important thing is that it sounds good. Jim's got a good point, most voiceovers aren't really that good, so I'm always pleasantly surprised to hear some good dialogue.

[Crazycrab]

There are some bigger names that are an exception like Nolan North, Troy Baker or Laura Bailey to name to name a few that make a more but for the most part a full time voice actor could earn about the same a mid-teir factory worker or detective but it's not stable.

 

To say if it's underpaid or not really depends on what your comparing them to.  As @The Blackangel pointed out when compared to actors in movies and TV it's obscene since those actors are paid far to much.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Crazycrab

[Patrik]

You can't really know, majority of those who complained about themselves being underpaid, surely didn't expect that the games they were protagonists on would go viral more than except (GTA SA/ GTA V for example)

[Heatman]

Well, I believe everything depends on the contract they signed, so no matter how much they are paid, it's the right amount for them and it's not our damn business.