SAG-AFTRA performers call strike against major game studios over AI

After a year and a half of negotiating for a better contract, performers union SAG-AFTRA has authorized a strike for all members working in games under the organization's Interactive Media agreement. The strike commences at 12:01 am on July 26 (so, shortly after midnight tonight) and any game studio looking to employ SAG-AFTRA-signed talent—for voice work, motion capture performance, on-screen talent, or similar services—must sign one of the new agreements listed in the union's post.

These include the Tiered-Budget Independent Interactive Media Agreement, the Interim Interactive Media Agreement, or the Interim Interactive Localization Agreement. According to the SAG-AFTRA site, those contracts are acceptable to the union because they include "critical AI protections for members."

AI protections are at the heart of this strike

As the post notes, negotiations began in November 2022, and it lists major studios like Take 2 Productions, EA, Activision, WB Games, and more as part of the convenience bargaining group. It states, "although agreements have been reached on many issues important to SAG-AFTRA members, the employers refuse to plainly affirm, in clear and enforceable language, that they will protect all performers covered by this contract in their A.I. language."

Simply put, this strike is largely due to the members seeking protection from potentially exploitative genAI technology. An unscrupulous studio looking to cut costs could hire a performer once and then use the assets to generate content without the actor's consent or compensation for their performance. The SAG-AFTRA members contend that this possibility—and others that lack explicit consent regarding the re-use of a performance—is harmful and undervalues their labor.

Sarah Elmaleh, Interactive Media Agreement negotiating committee chair (and prolific video game voice actor, with credits in games like Final Fantasy XV, Fortnite, and Hi-Fi Rush) closes out the post with a statement to that effect.

“Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable A.I. protections, but rather flagrant exploitation," said Elmaleh. "We refuse this paradigm—via 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."