Video game voice and performance actors went on strike a minute after midnight (US Pacific) last night, citing an impasse after 21 months of negotiations between the SAG-AFTRA union and major western video game companies, for a new deal.
The sticking point, it seems, is generative AI and concerns that it can be trained to create synthetic voices that would cost actors’ jobs.
“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members,” SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher said in a statement.
“Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live—and work—with, we will be here, ready to negotiate.”
As always in these things, the impasse is being blame by both sides on the other side:
The union has been negotiating for over a year with a collection of the biggest game companies, including Take Two Interactive (Grand Theft Auto), Insomniac Games (Spider-Man), Electronic Arts (Iron Man, Star Wars), Activision (Call of Duty) and widely-used voice acting studio Formosa Interactive (Death Stranding, Destiny 2, Helldivers, Zelda: Breath of the Wild and more).
The 10 companies facing the strike are Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Epic Games, Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc.
“We are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations,” Audrey Cooling, a rep for the game production companies said in an emailed statement.
“We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions. Our offer is directly responsive to SAG-AFTRA’s concerns and extends meaningful AI protections that include requiring consent and fair compensation to all performers working under the [Interactive Media Agreement]. These terms are among the strongest in the entertainment industry.”
But SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the companies are falling short of providing “fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the A.I. use of their faces, voices, and bodies.”
While most work involved in video game development historically hasn’t been covered by union protections, acting for video games has. It’s therefore subject to labor deals.
