Last year saw one of the biggest strikes ever, when SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America ceased work in television and film for three months.
These large actors’ and writers’ unions went on strike demanding better pay and working conditions, delaying TV shows and films.
Now it’s video games’ turn, as SAG-AFTRA is on strike against 10 video game companies in an attempt to win better protections for voice actors and performance capture artists in the union.
One of the biggest hurdles for SAG-AFTRA is the use, and misuse, of AI.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said, “We will not consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members.
“Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering a deal our members can live with – and work with – we will be here, ready to negotiate.”
A spokeswoman for the video game producers participating in the Interactive Media Agreement, Audrey Cooling, states that after 18 months of negotiations the two parties “have already found common ground on 24 of the 25 proposals”.
However, this strike depends on fair consent and compensation for the use of AI replicas from union stakeholders.
As reported by Varietythis week more than 500 union actors were outside one of the companies on strike, WB Games, as part of a strike picket line.
The union’s contracts director, Ray Rodriguez, says there aren’t enough protections for actors whose characters in the game don’t look like them in real life.
Rodriguez argues, “You’re providing stunt work for a zombie – I hope you don’t look like that zombie.”
There’s also the issue surrounding actors providing voice and performances for ongoing roles, across multiple games in a series.
Union bargaining committee chairwoman Sarah Elmaleh says, “The way they wrote it now is that you could get anyone, based on any of the characters they played in the history of their career, to recreate their performance.” .
There appears to be genuine concern that companies train AI on an actor’s performance rather than spending the money on hiring the actor again for subsequent projects.
The strike only covers projects that began to be developed after the previous agreement ended, at the end of August 2023.
This means games like GTA 6 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard won’t be hit with delays, but future games might.
If you want to read more gaming news, check out the CEO who reportedly spent $2.5 million on cars before laying off hundreds.
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