Video game actors confirm strike action over AI

Video game workers who are members of SAG-AFTRA, the labour union for American actors, have called for strike action, which will begin tomorrow, July 26.

The strike was called after the union failed to negotiate acceptable protections around the use of AI for its members, it said.

Last September SAG-AFTRA members approved strike action if the union was unable to get terms it considered acceptable while negotiating the Interactive Media Agreement.

SAG-AFTRA had been in negotiations with several video game companies and their performance production arms since October 2022, including Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, EA Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Epic Games, Take 2 Productions, VoiceWorks Productions and WB Games.

Those companies now likely won’t be able to hire unionised actors to perform motion capture or voiceover work for their games.

Some of the companies listed offer performance services for several game developers and publishers. Blindlight has contributed performance work to series such as The Elder Scrolls, Halo, Destiny, and Fallout, while Formosa Interactive has worked on Call of Duty games and other high-profile titles like Death Stranding, and God of War.

“Although agreements have been reached on many issues important to SAG-AFTRA members, the employers refuse to plainly affirm, in clear and enforceable language, that they will protect all performers covered by this contract in their A.I. language,” SAG-AFTRA said.

President Fran Drescher added: “We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members. 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.”

Chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said: “The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually. The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games.

“That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the A.I. use of their faces, voices, and bodies.

“Frankly, it’s stunning that these video game studios haven’t learned anything from the lessons of last year – that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to A.I., and the public supports us in that.”