Pearl Abyss has unveiled the English voice cast for Crimson Desert, revealing a lineup of actors whose credits read like a greatest hits of recent RPGs. A new behind-the-scenes video released today introduces the voices behind the Greymanes mercenary group, with performers drawn from Baldur’s Gate 3, Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and both recent Final Fantasy titles.
This Voices of the Greymanes
Alec Newman takes on the role of Kliff, the leader of the Greymanes mercenary band. Newman’s voice acting resume is substantial—he’s contributed to Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Final Fantasy XIV, giving him experience across some of the most demanding narrative RPGs of the past several years. For a protagonist role in what Pearl Abyss is positioning as a story-driven experience, that’s a reassuring pedigree. Steward Scuadmore voices Oongka, a character Pearl Abyss describes as balancing brute strength with unexpected depth. Scuadmore brings credits from Baldur’s Gate 3 and Final Fantasy XVI, along with work on the Arcane animated series.
Rebecca Hanssen rounds out the announced trio as Damiane, also bringing Baldur’s Gate 3 experience to the project. Pearl Abyss characterizes Damiane as down-to-earth yet fiercely headstrong, though we’ll have to wait for actual gameplay to see how that translates. In the video, ehind-the-scenes video shows the actors at work in the recording studio, though Pearl Abyss hasn’t clarified whether the performances involve motion capture or are voice-only. The studio has indicated that additional cast members will be revealed through their social media channels, suggesting the Greymanes roster extends beyond these three.
RPG Pedigree on Display
The Baldur’s Gate 3 connection stands out here. Larian’s RPG became something of a watershed moment for voice acting in games, with its performances earning widespread acclaim and multiple awards. Having two of your three announced leads share that credit isn’t accidental—it signals that Pearl Abyss is thinking seriously about what Western audiences expect from narrative-driven RPGs. Newman’s resume in particular spans an impressive range of the past half-decade’s biggest RPGs. When you’re casting someone who’s worked on Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Final Fantasy XIV, you’re not treating English localization as an afterthought.
This is the kind of casting you do when you want the English version to stand alongside the original rather than feel like a translation. For Pearl Abyss, this represents a notable investment. The studio made its name with Black Desert Online, an MMO where narrative took a backseat to action combat and life skills. Crimson Desert has always been pitched differently—as a single-player-focused experience where story matters—and this casting suggests they’re backing up that pitch with appropriate resources.
What We Know About the Characters
The setting is a world called Pywel, and Kliff leads the Greymanes through what appears to be a war-torn fantasy landscape. Previous Crimson Desert showcases have depicted large-scale battles and intimate character moments in roughly equal measure, and the mercenary band premise gives Pearl Abyss a natural framework for assembling a varied cast of personalities. Oongka and Damiane appear to be core members of that band, though Pearl Abyss hasn’t confirmed whether they’re permanent party members, whether players will control Kliff directly, or how much agency the story offers.
The character descriptions provided—stoic loyalty for Kliff, unexpected depth for Oongka, fierce determination for Damiane—are the sort of broad strokes you’d expect from a marketing reveal rather than substantive character details. What we don’t know is arguably more interesting than what we do. Is this the full main cast, or just three of many? Does Crimson Desert feature party-based gameplay, or do these characters primarily appear in cutscenes? Pearl Abyss has been deliberately measured in what they’ve shown of the game’s structure, and today’s reveal continues that pattern—giving us just enough to maintain interest without committing to specifics.
