Actors’ union calls for video game industry strike

The threat was carried out. He Screen Actors Guild American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) declared a strike against major video game companiesTen months after approving the shutdown, members have called for an indefinite strike after failing to reach a favorable agreement for the actors who voice and appear in the most popular games.

Negotiations that began in October 2022 were unsuccessful. The companies did not accept the bids and the actors’ union, which was looking for 11% wage increase and end to unregulated use of artificial intelligence. The latter was a turning point, as the video game industry said they would integrate AI more into AAA game development.

The strike will begin at 00:01 on July 26. and will affect the most important publishing houses. In accordance with deadlineThe companies facing the strike include Activision, Blindlight, Disney Character Voice, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Take 2 Productions, VoiceWorks Productions and WB Games.

“We will not accept a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “When these companies get serious about proposing a deal that our members can live and work under, we will be here ready to negotiate.”

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s national director, added that The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profits annual. The SAG-AFTRA negotiator added that the actors who bring the characters to life in these games “deserve and demand the same protections” as film, television, streaming and music artists.

AI Causes Actors’ Strike

Just as we saw with the Hollywood actors and writers’ strikes, AI played a major role in the negotiations. SAG-AFTRA is committed to protecting its members from the indiscriminate abuse of artificial intelligence. It is no secret that companies the size of Activision and Ubisoft are looking to use this technology to optimize their budgets.

In Ubisoft’s case, the company introduced Ghostwriter AI, a tool that writes NPC dialogue, reducing the need for scriptwriters. On the other hand, Electronic Arts Says It’s ‘Hungry’ to Use AI to speed up development processes. EA CEO Andrew Wilson said that generative AI will “positively” impact more than 50% of development processes.

After the announcement, Studios Accuse SAG-AFTRA of Walking Out of Talks when they were “so close” to reaching an agreement. “We have already found common ground on 24 of the 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety measures,” a spokesman for the manufacturing companies said.

Hit will directly affect studies that won’t be able to use unionized actors. Games like Call of Duty, Grand Craft Auto VI, Wolverine or the next one Mortal Kombat will have a direct impact. The union has proposed a tentative agreement for gaming companies that want to work with their members during the strike. This provides protections against the use of AI, as established in the initial negotiations.

It is worth mentioning that The strike will not affect the entire video game industry. Unlike Hollywood, many studios do not use famous or established actors in their films. However, companies like Insomniac Games, Activision or EA use celebrities to boost the popularity of their games.