Pearl Abyss didn’t just build a massive open-world action RPG, they went and assembled one of the more quietly impressive voice casts in recent memory to go with it. Like, people are out here focused on the combat and the visuals (fair, honestly), but the Crimson Desert voice cast deserves its own spotlight. We’ve got a BAFTA winner as the lead, Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3 veterans filling out the roster, and performers with serious stage and screen pedigree making their way into gaming. Not bad for a studio that was previously known almost exclusively for the MMO space.
Crimson Desert has been in development for what feels like forever at this point, going through some pretty significant creative pivots along the way from a Black Desert prequel to a full standalone action RPG. So when Pearl Abyss finally pulled back the curtain on the English cast earlier this year, people paid attention. And honestly? The lineup holds up. Here’s a full breakdown of every major voice actor in Crimson Desert and where you’ve heard them before.
The Three Playable Characters
Alec Newman — Kliff Macduff
Let’s start with the big one. Kliff Macduff is the morally complicated, battle-worn mercenary you’ll be spending the most time with, and for the lead role Pearl Abyss went and got Alec Newman, a 2025 BAFTA Games Award winner. That’s not a throwaway credential. He won for his performance as Caz McLeary in Still Wakes the Deep, a Scottish horror game that absolutely wrecked people emotionally last year. Talk about emotional range.
But most gamers probably clocked Newman first as Adam Smasher in Cyberpunk 2077. You know, the giant chrome-covered killing machine who’s basically the most feared enforcer in Night City. Pretty different energy from a brooding Scottish mercenary, which honestly just shows how good this guy is. His credits don’t stop there either Dying Light 2, Elden Ring, Dragon Age 2, Final Fantasy XIV, he’s been in basically every major RPG of the last decade at this point.
Getting a BAFTA-winning voice actor as your protagonist is a statement. Pearl Abyss is clearly swinging for the fences here, and Kliff’s performance is probably going to be one of the most talked-about parts of the game. High expectations, but Newman’s track record suggests he can deliver.
Stewart Scudamore — Oongka
Oongka’s one of the three main playable characters alongside Kliff, and playing him is Stewart Scudamore ,someone whose credits sneak up on you in the best possible way. You’ve probably heard him as a character in Arcane, Netflix’s ridiculously well-animated League of Legends adaptation that basically everyone loved. He’s also in The Sandman and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, so yeah, the man gets around.
Oh, and Space Marine 2. Same game Newman’s in, interestingly enough. At this point the Space Marine 2 cast is just moonlighting in every other major release, which is kind of wild when you think about it. Scudamore brings a lot of charisma to his roles and Oongka seems like a character with some serious personality, so this should be a fun one to watch unfold.
Rebecca Hanssen — Damiane
Damiane’s the third playable character and probably the one fans are speculating about the most based on the trailers. Good news: she’s in incredibly capable hands. Rebecca Hanssen voiced EVE in Stellar Blade, which was one of the most discussed performance-capture roles of 2024,that game got a lot of attention and so did the way EVE was portrayed. She also voiced multiple characters across Baldur’s Gate 3, which, if you know anything about that game’s VO scope, says a lot about her versatility.
Plus she’s in Dying Light: The Beast as Olivia Jablonski, and on the screen side she’s appeared in The Witcher series. That’s the kind of resume where you just kind of trust the casting automatically. Whatever Damiane’s role turns out to be in the story, Hanssen’s going to make it land. Pretty confident about that one.
The Supporting Cast
Peter Bramhill — Yann
Yann is one of Kliff’s key companions throughout the story, and if you’ve sunk serious hours into Final Fantasy XIV, Peter Bramhill’s voice is already burned into your memory. He’s Thancred Waters — one of the Scions, one of the most developed recurring characters across multiple FFXIV expansions, and a fan favourite for a long time. That’s years of long-form character work that not every voice actor gets the opportunity to do. It leaves a mark on how you approach a role.
But Bramhill’s not just an MMO guy. He’s also done Xenoblade Chronicles, Dragon Age: Origins, and legitimately impressive he has a background with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Like, the actual RSC. Theatrical training showing up in video game voice work is always interesting, and you can usually hear the difference in how those actors handle quieter, more textured emotional moments. Yann seems like a character with some depth to him, so this casting makes a lot of sense.
Emily Barber — Naira
Naira is voiced by Emily Barber, and she’s probably the cast member coming in with the most mainstream TV recognition. Most people know her from Bridgerton or Industry, both of which have pretty massive audiences at this point. On the gaming side she’s appeared in Absolum as Galandra, but Crimson Desert is easily the biggest gaming project she’s attached to so far.
Naira’s one of Kliff’s main companions so you’ll be hearing her throughout the whole game. Based on the trailers she’s got some solid material to work with, and Barber’s clearly comfortable with period-adjacent, high-stakes drama from her TV work. This feels like it could be a breakout gaming performance for her, honestly.
Alastair Parker — Myurdin
Myurdin’s brought to life by Alastair Parker, and this guy is basically a veteran of the Western RPG hall of fame at this point. Dragon Age: Inquisition, Mass Effect, Fable, Total War: Warhammer III, Ni No Kuni II,the list goes on. If you’ve played a major Western RPG in the last fifteen years, there’s a decent chance you’ve heard Parker’s voice without ever knowing his name. That’s the kind of consistent, reliable presence that supporting casts are built on.
Fans of classic fantasy RPGs will probably recognize him within the first few lines of dialogue. Which is either comforting or slightly immersion-breaking, depending on how you feel about that sort of thing. Either way, Myurdin’s in good hands.
The Bigger Picture
Taken together, the Crimson Desert English voice cast is genuinely one of the stronger lineups assembled for an action RPG in recent years. A BAFTA-winning lead, Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3 alumni, Final Fantasy XIV veterans, and performers with real stage and screen credentials all in one place. For a studio making its first major push into single-player storytelling, Pearl Abyss has put serious thought into this side of the production.
