For the second time in the last decade, video game performers are going on strike–this time after over a year and a half of negotiations with multiple major games publishers over protections against A.I. came to a close without a deal.
Announced this afternoon, the strike, which covers approximately 2,600 voice actors and motion capture performers under SAG-AFTRA’s Interactive Media Agreement, will go into effect from 12.01am Friday, July 26. The IMA contract expired in November 2022, with negotiations for a new deal between SAG-AFTRA and a convenience bargaining group of gaming publishers (which includes Activision, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions, VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games) beginning prior to that in October 2022. A year later in September 2023, SAG-AFTRA members voted for strike authorization with a 98.32% approval.
“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,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator, said in a statement provided to press today. “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.”
According to SAG-AFTRA, agreements on many of the demands made by its bargaining committee, including increased pay, extended rest time for physical and vocal performances, as well as required set medics during hazardous recording sessions, have been met during the last year-and-a-half of negotiations. However, according to the union, “employers refuse to plainly affirm, in clear and enforceable language, that they will protect all performers covered by this contract in their AI language.” SAG-AFTRA has been seeking, just as it did during last year’s Hollywood strikes, further protections around AI technology that included consent for reproduction of a performer’s voice or likeness with AI, as well as increased compensation for when AI is used to replicate performances.
“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,” SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher added in a statement. “When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live—and work—with, we will be here, ready to negotiate.”
“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. We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions,” a statement provided by a spokesperson for the video game producers party to the Interactive Media Agreement reads in response. “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 IMA. These terms are among the strongest in the entertainment industry.”
SAG-AFTRA last struck over stalled negotiations with the IMA in 2016, leading to a 340-day strike largely stemming over attempts to secure residuals for voice actors. The new strike comes, just as last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike for film and television actors, at a vital time for the entertainment industry, as the stars and performers of upcoming games like Marvel Rivals, Star Wars Outlaws, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard prepare to promote their work at San Diego Comic-Con this week. However, unlike the far-reaching implications last year’s dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes impacted upon the 2023 convention, this year due to the close proximity of the event attendees likely won’t notice directly. According to an FAQ on SAG-AFTRA’s website, “given the close proximity of the calling of the strike with San Diego Comic-Con, the strike rules relating to promotion and publicity services do not apply to promotion and publicity services provided at SDCC 2024.”
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
