Mega Man: Dual Override will mark the return of one of video games’ most iconic characters, but today we learned he’ll likely sound a bit different than in his last appearance. In a thread on Bluesky, voice actor Ben Diskin, who portrayed the Blue Bomber in 2018’s Mega Man 11, announced he will not be returning to voice the character in the upcoming sequel. According to him, it’s because Capcom refused his request to work under a SAG-AFTRA contract, ultimately pushing him to decline the company’s offer.
“With a broken Blue Bomber heart, I am no longer the voice of Mega Man,” Diskin’s post reads. “I was asked to return for Mega Man: Dual Override, but only on the condition I work without the protections of a union contract.” He goes on to clarify that Capcom offered “full A.I. protections” and assured him that his voice would “never” be used for A.I. generated content, but Diskin said that assurance alone wasn’t enough. “The video game industry is facing record layoffs and huge amounts of uncertainty. I need a union contract to feel safe,” he writes.
Diskin also claimed he offered to work for a lower rate if the job could be done through SAG-AFTRA, but claims he was told “with certainty, from [Capcom], that the project will not go union.”
Game Informer has reached out to Capcom for comment, but has not heard back at the time of publication.
Video game developers have begun adopting generative A.I. tools at a higher rate, creating art, code, and voice lines for their games. As a result, many voice actors have grown concerned that their likenesses will be used without their consent, or that they’ll be forced to sign contracts that require said consent. After members of the union went on strike for nearly a year (from July 2024 to June 2025), a new agreement was ratified. According to SAG-AFTRA representatives, the agreement provides “guardrails and gains around A.I., including consent and disclosure requirements for A.I. digital replica use and the ability for performers to suspend consent for the generation of new material during a strike.”
Mega Man: Dual Override was announced with a trailer at the 2025 Game Awards. It’s currently scheduled to launch in 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.
It’s always interesting to hear about the behind-the-scenes decisions in the gaming industry. Ben Diskin’s contributions to the Mega Man series have been memorable, and it’ll be intriguing to see how the new voice casting impacts the game. Looking forward to what Capcom has in store for Dual Override!