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After a strike lasting over a month, members of SAG-AFTRA have successfully secured agreements with the developers of 80 video games.
The game studios signed interim or tiered budget agreements that included crucial protections around artificial intelligence (AI), which performers had advocated for throughout the strike.
The interim agreement includes wage improvements, protections against exploitative uses of AI, and improved safety measures to account for the physical demands and vocal stress of performance work.
The tiered budget agreements were introduced to help smaller-budget projects or independent developers work with union talent while still providing performers the protections found in the interim deal.
This agreement means performers can return to work with the developers of the 80 video games included in the agreement, however there is ongoing strike action against major publishers including Disney, Warner Bros., and Electronic Arts.
Recall that the strike initially began in July after more than 18 months of negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and major gaming companies, including Activision, Warner Bros., and Walt Disney Co., stalled over AI protections. The protest marked a historic labor action, as video game workers seek safeguards against unregulated AI use in voice acting and motion capture.
SAG-AFTRA is going on strike against the video game industry.
“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members”
Companies facing the strike include Activision, Disney, Insomniac, EA, Take-Two, Epic Games and WB Games. pic.twitter.com/FK1juMI0V9
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 25, 2024
In response to the latest agreement, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator, explained that the agreements preserve the “human art, ingenuity, and creativity” essential to interactive storytelling. He added that the companies signing these agreements demonstrate that such AI terms are “reasonable, feasible, and sustainable.”
This is not the first time SAG-AFTRA has inked an agreement in recent times. In August, the union signed a deal with Narrativ for AI voice replication in ads. This means that actors can set prices for advertisers to digitally replicate their voices under the agreement.
