Hollywood video game actors are reportedly going on strike, shortly after new contract negotiations with major game studios fell apart over concerns about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in game development.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Performers (SAG-AFTRA) announced the strike, marking the second strike by video game voice and motion capture artists, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Unions and games companies have been negotiating a new interactive media agreement for almost two years.
AI concerns plague Hollywood video game actors
While progress has been made on wages and job security, the two sides remain at an impasse over regulating generative AI.
SAG-AFTRA argues that without strict guidelines, gaming companies could use AI to replicate actors' voices or create digital likenesses without their consent or fair compensation.
The strike will affect major game studios, including Activision, Warner Bros. and divisions of the Walt Disney Co.
What SAG-AFTRA said about the strike
“We're pleased to announce that SAG-AFTRA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the EPA,” SAG-AFTRA's chief contracts officer, Ray Rodriguez, told reporters at the press conference. “The industry has been very clear that they do not necessarily believe that everyone who performs athletically is a performer covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We are striking as a last resort. We have been working through this process for as long as we can responsibly, and we are striking now because we have exhausted all other options.”
He also noted that companies treat some physical performance as “data.”
Andy Norris, a member of the union's negotiating committee and fellow game actor, said the terms offered by the game companies would still put stunt and creature actors at risk.
Norris said: “The performers who bring their work to these games are creating a wide variety of characters and all of that work must be covered. Their proposal would be to cut out anything that doesn't look or sound exactly like how I look and sound as I sit here, when in reality, on any given week, I'm a zombie, a soldier, a zombie soldier. I cannot and will not accept a stunt or movement performer performing a full performance onstage next to a voice actor as not being a performer.”
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Performers (SAG-AFTRA) announced the strike, marking the second strike by video game voice and motion capture artists, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Unions and games companies have been negotiating a new interactive media agreement for almost two years.
AI concerns plague Hollywood video game actors
While progress has been made on wages and job security, the two sides remain at an impasse over regulating generative AI.
SAG-AFTRA argues that without strict guidelines, gaming companies could use AI to replicate actors' voices or create digital likenesses without their consent or fair compensation.
The strike will affect major game studios, including Activision, Warner Bros. and divisions of the Walt Disney Co.
What SAG-AFTRA said about the strike
“We're pleased to announce that SAG-AFTRA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the EPA,” SAG-AFTRA's chief contracts officer, Ray Rodriguez, told reporters at the press conference. “The industry has been very clear that they do not necessarily believe that everyone who performs athletically is a performer covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We are striking as a last resort. We have been working through this process for as long as we can responsibly, and we are striking now because we have exhausted all other options.”
He also noted that companies treat some physical performance as “data.”
Andy Norris, a member of the union's negotiating committee and fellow game actor, said the terms offered by the game companies would still put stunt and creature actors at risk.
Norris said: “The performers who bring their work to these games are creating a wide variety of characters and all of that work must be covered. Their proposal would be to cut out anything that doesn't look or sound exactly like how I look and sound as I sit here, when in reality, on any given week, I'm a zombie, a soldier, a zombie soldier. I cannot and will not accept a stunt or movement performer performing a full performance onstage next to a voice actor as not being a performer.”
