The Expanse: Osiris Reborn devs are replacing the voice actors and reworking combat after beta feedback

Developer Owlcat Games has shared a detailed update on what it learned from the recent beta for The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, revealing a surprising number of changes already planned ahead of launch, including replacing two major voice performances entirely.

In a new Steam post addressing players directly, Owlcat said more than 7,000 people completed the beta survey over the last month, while the studio also gathered feedback through telemetry, bug reports, and social media discussions.

According to the studio, the overall reception to the beta was “great,” with players praising the visuals, combat, EVA sections, music, and the atmosphere of Pinkwater 4 station. Characters Larry and Zafar also apparently made a strong impression during the test.

Still, the post makes it pretty clear Owlcat knows there’s work left to do ahead of next year’s planned launch.

The biggest revelation is that both the male protagonist and companion character J are getting new voice actors. Owlcat said while both actors “put in a lot of good work,” the performances ultimately “felt less expressive” than the team wanted. Ouch. That could have perhaps been phrased a littler softer methinks.

The studio is also reworking facial animation and body movement across the game to make characters feel “more natural and polished,” while combat is getting some attention too. Owlcat confirmed the cover system is being adjusted to make interactions more intuitive before release.

One of the more amusing complaints from the beta involved J’s repeated battle cries, which apparently started driving players slightly mad after enough firefights. Owlcat admitted the game’s “ask” system was still unfinished during the beta and said a full rework was already planned.

The team also acknowledged feedback surrounding the game’s tone and character interactions. While Owlcat said the overall narrative direction remains intentional, some conversations will now be rewritten to make reactions feel “more natural, responsive, and grounded.”

I’d say it’s quite unusual to see this level of honesty in a post like this. Rather than the usual vague “thanks for feedback” developer update, Owlcat has openly identified what players didn’t like and explained exactly what’s changing because of it. The Expanse carries a huge, much-loved licence, so there is very little wiggle room to irritate the fans.

There’s still no actual release date for The Expanse: Osiris Reborn yet, but Owlcat says more updates on development progress are coming soon.

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