Image credit: SAG-AFTRA
The US Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has called a strike by voice actors on work with key video game publishers and developers, pushing back against proposed contracts that would enable the use of AI generated voices and performances in video games. However, work can continue on games deep into production… for now.
The ten companies facing the strike are Activision, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Take 2 Productions, VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said, “We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate.”
Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland added in a separate statement, “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. 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 AI use of their faces, voices, and bodies. Frankly, it’s stunning that these video game studios haven’t learned anything from the lessons of last year – that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to AI, and the public supports us in that.”
As a rebuttal, a spokesperson for the video game producers group said, “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. 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.”
It could take a while for the effects of this to be truly felt. Per Kotaku’s Ethan Gach, games that have been in development for more than a year, and live service games can continue with union actors, though new and early projects cannot. Given that games can now very easily take 5 years to complete, there’s plenty room for this strike to escalate, especially as motion capture is a time consuming endeavour.
Given the timing, SAG-AFTRA has said that actors can take part in San Diego Comic Con panels which run through this weekend. Ordinarily all promotional work would also be halted, from awards shows to conventions and even social media posts.
The strike comes ten months after members voted to authorise a strike, and in the wake of the 2023 strike by SAG-AFTRA actors for TV and film, in which the use of generative AI and digital recreation were key points. Where the TV and film strike was also concerned with residual payments and the like, it’s the threat that generative AI poses to almost the entire video game voice actor industry that is really in the limelight here.
Generative AI has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, and while still a million miles away from what we would traditionally think of as being AI – that’d be a self-aware computer, as opposed to what would more accurately be called ‘Machine Learning’ – it is already capable of synthesising a person’s voice from relatively few audio samples. There’s still things like needing to be able to convey emotion and the nuances of a performance and reading, but developers have already been using generative AI for things like the announcer in extraction shooter The Finals in open beta, where a somewhat robotic performance is fairly in keeping with the tone of the game, and other titles have also used AI as placeholder until the latter stages of development.
Source: SAG-AFTRA, Deadline, Ethan Gach (Kotaku)
