Game Voice Actors Strike Over AI Concerns

• SAG-AFTRA members voted to authorize a strike.
• Game companies won't guarantee rights over AI usage.
• 2,600 actors lack an Interactive Media Agreement since Nov 2022.
• The strike starts on July 26 at 12:01 am.
• Games in production before Aug 25, 2023, aren't affected.

Video Game Actors Are Going on Strike Over AI

Video game actors are going on strike for the first time since 2017. This follows months of negotiations with major publishers like Activision and Epic Games over higher pay, better safety measures, and protections from new generative AI technologies.

They'll be hitting the picket line a year after Hollywood actors and writers wrapped up their own historic strikes. This escalation could have significant consequences for the development and marketing of some of the industry's biggest games.

Key Points:

• Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted last fall to authorize a strike.
• Big game companies are unwilling to guarantee performers' rights over how their work is used in training AI or creating AI-generated copies.
• Roughly 2,600 voice actors and motion capture artists have been working without an Interactive Media Agreement since November 2022.
• The strike starts on July 26 at 12:01 am.

Industry Impact:

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. This includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life.

Chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland stated that these members deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music. This includes fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the AI use of their faces, voices, and bodies.

Spokesperson Audrey Cooling for the companies involved in the Interactive Media Agreement said they are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when they are so close to a deal. She mentioned they remain prepared to resume negotiations.

Games and Actors Affected:

Games set to come out this fall, like Dragon Age: The Veilguard, likely already have their voice and motion-capture work completed. However, the strike means SAG-AFTRA members would be unavailable for projects starting production soon or years out.

Most popular franchises are now fully voice-acted, with the biggest-budget productions using motion capture to transfer actors' real-life performances frame by frame into the game.

Exactly which games will be impacted remains to be seen. The language in the IMA is clear that video games already in production prior to August 25, 2023, are not subject to the strike.

Conclusion:

The last time video game actors went on strike in 2016, it was primarily over pay rates and lasted an entire year. This time, the lack of AI protections poses an existential threat to actors and their creative output.

Negotiating committee chair Sarah Elmaleh stated that they refuse to accept a paradigm of flagrant exploitation and will not leave any of their members behind. They look forward to collaborating with teams on their Interim and Independent contracts, which provide AI transparency, consent, and compensation to all performers.

SAG-AFTRA video game voice actors are set to hold a panel at San Diego Comic-Con later this week on July 26.