US video game performers announce strike over ongoing AI concerns

UPDATE 26/07/24: Video game producers negotiating as part of the Interactive Media Agreement have responded to news of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

"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," reads a statement from spokesperson for the video game producers party to the Interactive Media Agreement, Audrey Cooling, shared with Eurogamer.

"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."

ORIGINAL STORY 25/07/24: Video game performers within United States actors union SAG-AFTRA have voted to go on strike starting Friday, 26th July, after "more than than a year and a half of negotiations" with major game companies over the use of AI have failed to reach a deal.

SAG-AFTRA members initially voted in favour of (but did not immediately take) strike action last September, after the union failed to reach a consensus with video game producers - including Activision, Warner Bros, EA, Take-Two, and Disney - while attempting to negotiate a successor to the Interactive Media Agreement, which covers members' work on games.

At the time, SAG-AFTRA said companies had refused to offer acceptable terms on critical issues, including wages in-line with inflation, protections around exploitative uses of AI, and job safety.

Then, this March, SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland confirmed the strike was still likely to go ahead after the union had failed to reach a deal with companies regarding AI protections. "We want to make sure the implementation [of AI] is human-centred and focused on augmentation [of production], not replacement of people," he explained, adding that "consent and compensation" for members whose work is used by AI engines is also one of the union's aims.

And now, with a deal still not agreed upon, union members have officially called a strike, effective Friday, 26th July, at 12:01am. "Although agreements have been reached on many issues important to SAG-AFTRA members," the union wrote in a statement announcing the strike, "the employers refuse to plainly affirm, in clear and enforceable language, that they will protect performers covered by this contract in their AI language."

"We're not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members," SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher added in the statement. "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."

Many video game performers, including Solid Snake actor David Hayter and Commander Shepard actor Jennifer Hale, have voiced their concerns about AI and its impact on their work in recent times. In March this year, Eurogamer spoke to several BAFTA-nominated Baldur's Gate 3 actors, who revealed the darker side of success, fuelled by AI voice cloning.