Graha Voice Actor Change?

[WillIrishclover]

We'll have confirmation one way or another in the 7.55 credits.

[bunnymoon]

Why would an NDA exist where Square Enix couldn't confirm who an actor is in a product that is already released that we pay for, when they have been in the role 7 years and also have a credits scene? That makes no sense.

I mean, it does? Knowing he voiced G'raha in the past doesn't have any bearing on what a current NDA covers right now.

[ZephyrMenodora]

I've broken it down here, in case you missed that:



I've signed SE NDAs myself (as press though, not VA) and they are incredibly strict, even in comparison to the industry standard.
I wouldn't be surprised if his NDA basically said "do not deny or confirm anything at all unless we've already spoken on it"

I'm not asking JB to respond. I'm asking SE who would be in control of sharing information about this issue.

[paradisea]

I'm just tired of this "Bailey is too big for XIV" debate like having such a big name among your cast is a detriment and not a boon SE ought to be clinging to. Imagine hitting a goldmine like this before his breakout and instead of trying to keep your treasure you hit yourself over the head with the pickaxe.

This gave me a good laugh, and you're absolutely right.

I just woke up, not feeling good about whatever... this is. Some people made incredibly good points I'll reiterate here:

I hope sincerely that SE fights to keep him on this role. I saw comments here about not wanting to pay his "hollywood rates" or whatever (which are assumptions, we have no idea about any payment disputes so lets not just say presumptions like they are fact) but don't you think with his career exploding it would bring some interest to his other roles and maybe new players to the game? God knows we need something here to attract new players.

This. Like the previous quote said, I don't understand the view of having such a popular actor as being somehow bad for the game because it costs money (something SE hardly lacks) when it could be a player attracting feature. As someone who interacts plenty with the subset of G'raha likers on social media and the Bailey-related fandoms like Bridgerton and Wicked, those of you who don't might not be aware of how much the fans there treat G'raha like some sort of cousin to Fiyero and Anthony. It's pretty sweet and funny, and I've even seen a few people actually try the game because of it. With the recent uproar, I saw some Wicked fans quoting people talking about this lamenting the possibility of Bailey leaving the project. Bailey's presence is a selling point for this game. It's not some kind of money sink with zero payback.

And even if it wasn't, the fans who are already here, whose money sustains this game and the company, who love and care for the characters and the voices that bring them to life—they deserve to not have to deal with their favorite character's actor being replaced. Much less with no explanation (which better be a damn good one), no forewarning, nothing. Just listen to your guy sound like a completely different person and pretend that's totally okay and good.

I'll just reiterate one more time that Bailey's performance is what made G'raha Tia such a great character to me, and his presence from ShB until now is what got me so invested in this game and its story. Him leaving would be, frankly, the moment I leave too. If that's not the case for you, I'm glad. Wish it wasn't for me , because then I wouldn't have to be worried about all this. But this matters to me. Bailey as G'raha's voice matters to me. If it's him who wants to leave, I'll just deal with it. But if it's SE just letting go of him then no, I don't find that acceptable.

[KiraRavens]

I'm not asking JB to respond. I'm asking SE who would be in control of sharing information about this issue.

My reply covered that too though.

For SE it's either:
- damage control -> need strategy first, will make statement then or just fix it with the next patch
- replaced him and didn't want to impact subs (yet) -> no statement now, will or will not comment later - or let people discover it via the 7.55 credits and then react if necessary
- still in negotiations -> won't comment until those are over one way or another; they'll def not tell us they're in negotiations

The NDA thing referred to JB just going "no comment" in response to Kotaku reaching out.

[ZephyrMenodora]

My reply covered that too though.

For SE it's either:
- damage control -> need strategy first, will make statement then or just fix it with the next patch
- replaced him and didn't want to impact subs (yet) -> no statement now, will or will not comment later - or let people discover it via the 7.55 credits and then react if necessary
- still in negotiations -> won't comment until those are over one way or another; they'll def not tell us they're in negotiations

The NDA thing referred to JB just going "no comment" in response to Kotaku reaching out.

Those are all business decisions that don't prevent them from communicating with their paying customers. Just choices on their part, and I can have opinions about that.

[joonhopes]

Oh man this is such a bummer. A good part of what makes G’raha such an amazing character to me is the amazing work Bailey has put into voicing him. If this is a pricing issue I hope Square can just up the rates if need be

[KthAura]

"Update, 12/19/25, 9:15 a.m.: A representative of Bailey told Kotaku that he “won’t be commenting or participating in any interviews regarding FF XIV” at this time."

That's such a non-answer, but it makes me feel sick to the pit of my stomach.

Please, Square Enix, tell us something so we can stop worrying over it.

Dude... this breaks my heart- Why can't they be transparent about this? Like many said here, if it happened to a Japanese VA, we would've heard a statement by now! Stuff like this just makes people panic even more man... Squenix please be transparent.

[KiraRavens]

Those are all business decisions that don't prevent them from communicating with their paying customers. Just choices on their part, and I can have opinions about that.

The choices they make are what they think is best for their business.
I'm not saying I agree with those choices, I've just been a fan and working with them in a press capacity for 20+ years and have a pretty good grasp on how they operate, and this is my guess on why things are happening the way they are happening right now.
Am I happy about it? That's a whole different matter, and the answer is no.

[ZephyrMenodora]

The choices they make are what they think is best for their business.
I'm not saying I agree with those choices, I've just been a fan and working with them in a press capacity for 20+ years and have a pretty good grasp on how they operate, and this is my guess on why things are happening the way they are happening right now.
Am I happy about it? That's a whole different matter, and the answer is no.

I do believe they would hide this information for financial reasons as long as possible, and stated so earlier in the thread. But the lack of transparency and purposely ignoring requests for simple information can only cost them in resentment down the road.