Honoring Hayden Panettiere's Contribution to Video Games

On August 16, Hayden Panettiere, child actress turned esteemed celebrity, tragically died at the very young age of only 36. Yesterday (August 21 at the time of writing this article) would've been here 37th birthday.

Panettiere as she appeared in Scream VI as Kirby Reed in 2023.

While Panettiere is perhaps best known for her roles on the big screen and our televisions in productions like Nashville or the Scream franchise, she has left a much larger mark on the world of video games than some of you might expect.

Her first role in a video game was voicing the character Dot from A Bug's Life (voicing her in both the movie and the licensed game), but her breakout video game role was as Kairi from the Kingdom Hearts franchise, voicing her from 2002 to 2010 (or more specifically, the first game, second game, and Birth by Sleep), and also voicing Xion from 3D: Dream Drop Distance from 2010 to 2012 (in Birth by Sleep and 3D: Dream Drop Distance).

Kairi and Xion, characters both voiced by Panettiere.

Panettiere would later star in the 2015 survival horror game, Until Dawn, as Samantha Giddings, the overall lead protagonist of the franchise. When the game saw a remake in 2024, she returned to voice Giddings again in an additional post-credits scene. Giddings was not just a mere "horror movie girl" archetype character, which caused her to stand out among the crowd of main characters.

A standalone sequel, Until Dawn 2 was announced only recently this year, and though it will contain a whole new cast, it would be a tragedy not to include a memory to Panettiere for what she brought to the original game.

Samantha Giddings as she appears in the 2024 remake.

While this list might not sound big on paper, video games have a huge power to carry emotions with people for decades on end, and her roles in games have been known to be widely successful. There's no doubt that her performances have had a lasting impact on millions.

Did any of Panettiere's performances in video games resonate with you? Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.