Nintendo has recast the role of Fire Emblem: Three Houses’ male protagonist after voice actor Chris Niosi was accused of and confessed to abusing former friends and romantic partners.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses released late last week, but a statement from Nintendo shared by Nintendo World Report says that the role has already been recast in light of the situation surrounding Niosi.
That same Fire Emblem character was set to debut in the mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes, though that release has been delayed and Niosi has already been replaced by voice actor Zach Aguilar in the credits for the mobile spinoff. Three Houses, meanwhile, will replace Niosi’s voice work with that of Aguilar in a future patch.
A former romantic partner of Niosi’s came forward online ahead of the game’s release with abuse allegations against the actor. Shortly after, Niosi published an admission on his Tumblr that he ”horribly mistreated and abused friends, colleagues and even my significant others” and sent both public and private apologies to those he victimized.
“After assessing the situation, we decided to re-record the character’s voiceovers in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Fire Emblem Heroes with another actor,” reads Nintendo’s statement. “The new voiceovers will be included in a future patch.”