Darkest Dungeon’s Narrator Wayne June has Died

“Ruin has come to our family”… and to my good mood. It brings me great sorrow to report to you that Wayne June, well-known as the legendary narrator in Darkest Dungeon and Darkest Dungeon II, has passed away at the age of 70. Red Hook Studios’ Chris Bourassa publicly announced Mr. June’s passing in a blog post published on Thursday, January 30th, 2025. This news has likely saddened legions of Darkest Dungeon fans the world over, myself included. I’ll try to refrain from spouting off every one of June’s endlessly quotable lines in his narrator role that I can remember throughout this article.

Wayne June originally began to gain notoriety through narrating audiobook versions of works penned by H.P. Lovecraft. Considering the nature of the work June would go on to do for both of Red Hook Studios’ Darkest Dungeon games and the atmosphere within them, I believe that recording narrations of Lovecraft’s works, introducing readers and listeners to the likes of Cthulhu and other horrors, was a fitting way for June’s career as a voice actor to take off.

I’ll always fondly remember Wayne June’s fantastic work in Darkest Dungeon and its sequel. In a way, I’m glad I’ll get to “spend more time with him,” so to speak, because I’ve never managed to get anywhere close to finishing either of the Darkest Dungeon games. As narrator, he was just as likely to celebrate your small in-game victories alongside you as he was to join you in lamenting the cruelty of your bad luck – or mock you for being careless.

The emotion Wayne June poured into each word he spoke made him feel, to my mind, almost like an extra party member among my chosen group of unfortunate mercenaries. In the wake of his passing, however, I can’t help but wonder what Red Hook Studios might do now. A new piece of downloadable content for Darkest Dungeon II, titled “Inhuman Bondage,” was just released on January 27th, 2025. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Mr. June’s passing has thrown a particularly somber wrench into any plans Red Hook might have for further DLC or, eventually, a potential Darkest Dungeon III. I suppose only time will tell.