Videogame
performers
in
the
Screen
Actors
Guild-American
Federation
of
Television
and
Radio
Artists
(SAG-AFTRA)
have
announced
that
they
will
go
on
strike
from
today
over
a
variety
of
issues,
including
the
use
of
AI.
This
strike
could
potentially
result
in
the
delay
of
numerous
games.

SAG-AFTRA
voted
in
favour
of
striking
in
September
of
last
year
as
they
were
unable
to
reach
an
accord
for
a
new
Interactive
Media
Agreement
with
various
companies
such
as
Disney,
Activison
and
EA
in
regards
to
increased
wages
and
the
use
of
AI.

AI
is
one
of
the
biggest
issues
SAG-AFTRA
is
battling
against
because
various
companies
use
the
real
performances
of
actors
to
train
AI
models
which
will
then
be
used
to
replace
those
actors
and
actresses.
In
many
cases
though,
the
performers
are
unaware
of
this
happening.

“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,”

said
Crabtree-Ireland
in
an
official
statement
from
SAG-AFTRA.
“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.”

It’s
important
to
note
that
SAG-AFTRA
isn’t
seeking
for
AI
usage
to
be
stopped
entirely,
rather
they
want
their
performers
to
be
able
to
consent
to
their
performances
being
used
to
train
AI
and
for
them
to
be
compensated
for
it.
This
is
part
of
a
much
larger,
ongoing
debate
about
how
companies
can
and
do
use
material
created
by
artists,
musicians,
film
makers
and
more
to
train
their
AI
models
without
permission
from
the
original
creators.

“Eighteen
months
of
negotiations
have
shown
us
that
our
employers
are
not
interested
in
fair,
reasonable
A.I.
protections,
but
rather
flagrant
exploitation.
We
refuse
this
paradigm
–
we
will
not
leave
any
of
our
members
behind,
nor
will
we
wait
for
sufficient
protection
any
longer.
We
look
forward
to
collaborating
with
teams
on
our
Interim
and
Independent
contracts,
which
provide
A.I.
transparency,
consent
and
compensation
to
all
performers,
and
to
continuing
to
negotiate
in
good
faith
with
this
bargaining
group
when
they
are
ready
to
join
us
in
the
world
we
all
deserve.”
said
Interactive
Media
Agreement
Negotiating
Committee
Chair
Sarah
Elmaleh. 

The
companies
currently
known
to
be
effected
by
this
strike
are;
Activision
Productions
Inc.,
Blindlight
LLC,
Disney
Character
Voices
Inc.,
Electronic
Arts
Productions
Inc.,
Formosa
Interactive
LLC,
Insomniac
Games
Inc.,
Llama
Productions
LLC,
Take
2
Productions
Inc.,
VoiceWorks
Productions
Inc.,
and
WB
Games
Inc.

Given
the
size
of
these
companies,
the
strike
could
massively
impact
numerous
upcoming
releases.
However,
in
cases
like
this,
existing
contracts
will
be
honoured,
meaning
if
a
game
already
has
contracts
in
place
for
voice
work
it
will
go
ahead.
Only
new
contracts
will
be
effected.

There
are
some
claims
that
Grand
Theft
Auto
6
will
be
impacted
by
the
strike,
but
this
seems
to
be
a
misunderstanding

stemming
from
a
single
report
in
which
it
was
claimed
the
game
“could”
be
impacted.
Of
course,
it
is
possible
GTA
6
might
have
issues
if
there
is
still
more
voice
work
to
be
done
that
isn’t
already
contractually
agreed
to,
but
that’s
purely
speculation.

It
is,
of
course,
possible
for
these
companies
to
simply
hire
performers
who
are
not
members
of
SAG-AFTRA.

There
may
not
be
a
shortage
of
those
as
quite
a
few
voice
actors
and
performers
do
not
support
SAG-AFTRA,

especially
after
a
controversial
decision
by
SAG-AFTRA
earlier
this
year
to
enter
into
a
deal
Replica,
an
AI
voice
company.
At
the
time
SAG-AFTRA
said
the
deal
was
“approved
by
affected
members
of
the
union’s
voiceover
performer
community”
but
multiple
members
of
the
union
claimed
they
were
not
told
nor
asked
about
the
deal.

“Nobody
in
our
community
approved
this
that
I
know
of.
Games
are
the
bulk
of
my
livelihood
and
have
been
for
years.
Who
are
you
referring
to?”
said
voice
actor
Steve
Blum
at
the
time.

A
spokesperson
for
the
Interactive
Media
Agreement has
responded
to
the
strike.

“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,”
reads
a
statement
from
Audrey
Cooling,
shared
with
Eurogamer.

“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.”