There is trouble in the industry again. SAG-AFTRA has called for a strike against various video game manufacturers. The issue is better protection of the players from AI.
Since artificial intelligence has been used more and more, many people are worried about their jobs. This also includes actors and voice artists who work in video games. The SAG-AFTRA union in the USA has been negotiating specific regulations for some time and has been successful in some areas, but full protection for employees has not yet been promised.
Now the union has had enough and called on members to strike after a vote with 98.32 percent approval. “We will not agree to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough. If these companies are serious and offer a contract that our members can live – and work – with, we will be here and negotiate,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher.
“The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profits annually. The driving force behind this success are the creative people who design and develop these games. This includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life. They deserve and demand the same basic protections as performers in film, television, streaming and music: fair compensation and the right to informed consent for AI use of their faces, voices and bodies,” the statement continues. Press release on the strike
A whole range of companies are affected, including 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. – some of the companies work as external service providers for studios such as Ubisoft or Bethesda. How long the strike will last is just as uncertain as the question of whether it will affect the scheduling of ongoing game developments.
