Following 18 months of negotiations, SAG-AFTRA has announced a strike against major game studios, primarily due to concerns about generative artificial intelligence (AI). Here’s what you need to know about the strike and its impact on the industry.
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Discussions regarding the Interactive Media (Video Game) Agreement commenced Oct. 2022. Nearly a year later, in Sept. 2023, members voted to authorize a strike should it be necessary. That day has come: SAG-AFTRA is officially on strike against video game publishers, effective 12:01 a.m. on July 26, 2024.
Video game voice and motion capture performers want AI protections.
While SAG’s negotiating committee and the game studios’ bargaining group were able to come to agreements on most issues, generative AI remained a sticking point. Currently, there are no contractual provisions disallowing game companies from training AI to reproduce an actor’s voice or likeness without obtaining consent or providing fair compensation.
“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members,” said SAG president Fran Drescher. “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.”
How Generative AI Is Entering Voiceover Video game performers “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 AI use of their faces, voices, and bodies,” added SAG national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. Citing the union’s historic 2023 strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, he continued, “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 AI.”
“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,” said Audrey Cooling, spokesperson for the video game producers party to the Interactive Media Agreement, in a statement. “We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions. 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.”
On July 31, the SAG-supported NO FAKES Act was introduced in the Senate. The bill, sponsored by senators Marsha Blackburn, Chris Coons, Amy Klobuchar and Thom Tillis, would make it illegal at a federal level to create AI replications of a person’s voice or likeness without consent.
“Game over A.I. fraudsters!” Drescher said in a statement about the bill. “Enshrining protections against unauthorized digital replicas as a federal intellectual property right will keep us all protected in this brave new world. Especially for performers whose livelihoods depend on their likeness and brand, this step forward is a huge win!”
On Sept. 24, SAG called a strike against the game League of Legends after its producer, Formosa Interactive LLC, transferred work to a shell company and sought nonunion talent. In addition to calling a strike against the previously unstruck game, the union also filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Formosa’s move was “an impermissible and appalling attempt to evade a strike action and destroy performers’ rights under labor law,” reads a SAG press release.
Unpacking SAG-AFTRA’s New AI Regulations: What Actors Should KnowWhich companies are struck?
Struck companies comprise of the biggest names in video gaming, including:
- Activision Productions Inc.
- Blindlight LLC
- Disney Character Voices International Inc.
- Electronic Arts Inc.
- Formosa Interactive LLC
- Insomniac Games Inc.
- Llama Productions LLC
- Take 2 Productions Inc.
- VoiceWorks Productions Inc.
- WB Games Inc.
However, according to SAG, “it is easier to think about the strike in terms of struck games as opposed to struck companies.” This is because some interactive programs have been either:
- Approved under an Interim Interactive Media Agreement
- Approved under an Interim Interactive Localization Agreement
- Signed to a Tiered-Budget Independent Agreement
“Members are encouraged to work these programs during the strike,” writes SAG-AFTRA. To find out if a game is struck, use this resource provided by the union.
Members cannot work on struck projects. SAG members must stop providing services and delivering work for contracts covered by the IMA. This means that they may not do the following for struck video games:
- Act
- Voice act
- Sing
- Dance
- Perform stunts and related services
- Performance capture and motion capture work
- ADR/looping
- Background and stand-in work
- Rehearsals and camera tests
- Auditions (including self-tapes)
- Authorize the use of their voice or likeness
- Promote or perform content for struck games
- Agree to perform services or create digital replicas for struck companies in the future
Any union member who performs covered services for struck companies will be found in violation of SAG’s membership guidelines and subject to disciplinary action, including:
- Censure
- A reprimand
- A fine
- Suspension from the union
- Expulsion from the union
Members cannot work for companies that aren’t under a SAG contract. Under Global Rule One, “No member shall render any services or make an agreement to perform services for any employer who has not executed a basic minimum agreement with the union, which is in full force and effect, in any jurisdiction in which there is a SAG-AFTRA national collective bargaining agreement in place. This provision applies worldwide.”
Members may work on non-IMA SAG contracts. SAG members can work under other union contracts, as per the strike FAQ page, including:
- SAG-approved Interim IMAs for video games
- SAG-approved Interim Interactive Localization Agreement
- Tiered-Budget Independent IMAs
- Dubbing covered by the following agreements: Netflix, Spanish Language, Negotiated Employer Agreement, and the SAG-AFTRA Dubbing Agreements
- Audiobooks
- TV/Theatrical Agreement
- Commercials: Television, Radio & Digital Media (including ADR/Looping/Trailers)
- Television & New Media Animation
- Influencer-Generated Sponsored Content Agreement
- Network TV Code (including promo work)
- Sound Recordings
- Music Videos
- Corporate/Educational & Non-Broadcast Programs
- Station Contracts & Broadcast News
- Short Project Agreement
- Micro Budget Agreement
- Student Film Agreement
- Independent New Media Agreement
- Independent Podcast Agreement & Micro-Monetized Podcast Agreement
- Certain separately negotiated basic cable agreements
Nonunion actors can work for struck companies, but doing so may prevent them from joining SAG. While actors who aren’t union members may technically provide covered services for struck companies, they will be considered scabs and denied future membership. According to SAG’s notice to nonmembers, “Performing covered work for struck games jeopardizes your future membership in the union.”
Nonunion actors can work for companies that aren’t under a SAG contract. Since nonmembers aren’t bound by Global Rule One, they are allowed to provide services for video game publishers under non-SAG contracts without facing disciplinary action. However, SAG’s strike FAQ page cautions that doing so may lead to “exploitation of your movement, voice, and likeness without your consent” due to a lack of AI protections.
SAG held a strike against video game companies starting Oct. 2016—the first-ever unionized strike in the video game ecosystem. It was called to protest the lack of residuals for actors, voice actors, and motion capture actors for video games. The union and companies reached an agreement in Sept. 2017. Although the new three-year contract did not address residuals payments, it did include recording session bonus payments for voice actors, set on a sliding scale.