SAG-AFTRA will resume negotiations to protect video game actors from unethical AI

After a strike that lasted nearly five months, SAG-AFTRA will resume negotiations with major game publishers, seeking protections from unethical AI for video game actors

SAG-AFTRA

After an actors' strike that lasted nearly four months, SAG-AFTRA will resume negotiations with major game publishers, seeking protections from unethical AI for video game actors. The union made the announcement in a brief statement on its website and said they would be making no further comment before negotiations begin again.

• Read more: SAG-AFTRA strikes deal that lets AI companies replicate voice actors

“SAG-AFTRA and the convenience bargaining group with whom the union negotiates its Interactive Media Agreement will resume negotiations on Wednesday, Oct. 23,” the statement reads. “The convenience bargaining group includes 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., and WB Games Inc.”

“No further comment is available from either party at this time.”

SAG-AFTRA authorized a strike in late July 2024, after the group representing major game studios refused to extend protections to all actors working with the union. SAG-AFTRA wanted all actors to receive fair compensation when studios used AI to replicate their voices or bodies, and they insisted that publishers inform actors when they planned on using these likenesses. 

It’s unclear which actors the bargaining group representing game studios refused to cover, though the disagreement involved a lack of “clear and enforceable language” that the union believed would have let studios wriggle out of obligations to game actors. The strike meant that actors working on SAG-AFTRA projects or with ties to studios working under agreements with the union stopped their work – with some exceptions, including GTA 6 actors – or stopped promoting it. If you’re a Genshin Impact fan and noticed that Genshin Impact 5.1 voice lines were rather fewer in number than usual, the strike is why.

• Read more: AI-generated NPCs represent the worst parts of video games

Whether this new round of bargaining will end the strike remains to be seen, though SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher previously said the union won’t stop until it secures protections for all its members

“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members,” Drescher said. “Enough is enough.”