Honkai: Star Rail will replace Moze voice actor

VA steps down from role following controversy

HoYoverse

HoYoverse announced that it will replace the voice actor of upcoming Honkai: Star Rail character Moze, Chris Niosi, as well as all of his hitherto delivered voice lines in a future version of the title. This means that Niosi’s voice lines will make their way into the game in the coming update and will remain there until his replacement has been found and delivered their lines. This is similar to how things worked with the Tighnari VA replacement in Genshin Impact in 2023.

Fans have called on HoYoverse to replace Niosi following allegations that he lied about having apologized to his abuse victims and changing his ways.

It looks like the final call for the decision did not come from the developer, but rather Niosi himself – in a statement, the voice actor wrote that he asked his agent earlier this week “to let MiHoYo know that I have made the difficult decision to step down from the role of Moze in Honkai: Star Rail.”

“Voicing this character even briefly has been an incredible honor,” he continued. “But having spent the last week reading the comments from the community I cannot in good faith continue in a role that would cause undue pain for so many people, especially those I have hurt in the past.”

Niosi stated that he understood he had “more work to do before the public feels comfortable with my stepping into a role of this scope.” He also asked people to “please show grace to those who have believed in me – or simply interacted with me – in the past,” most likely referring to Sunday VA Griffin Puatu.

Puatu defended Niosi publicly – and did so in a manner that left himself open to attack, leading to fans calling for his replacement as well. Puatu lost a total of three roles due to his conduct over the past week with Lost in Limbo, Sigh of the Abyss, and REEDS all dropping him. It’s arguable that his actions led to a bit of a Streisand Effect, pouring gasoline on the entire situation and escalating it further.

“My actions are not theirs,” Niosi emphasized.

With Niosi stepping down, the only question left open is whether or not HoYoverse will keep Puatu in place as Sunday.