The union representing many of the video games industry’s voice and performance actors has decided to launch a strike for all of its members. SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) announced the news via their website on Thursday.
For over a year, actors and their union have been in dispute with video game makers relating to how AI could be used in games. Issues were raised and a new deal to protect actors was discussed but nothing could be agree up on. So, a vote was cast to strike. The result was unanimous with 98.32% voting yes to strike.
This strike begins on July 26th at 12:01 am PT. From that time, actors in the union cannot work on games until a deal is reached with a collective of the biggest video game publishers. At this moment in time, the companies will not provide clear language in their contracts that performers will be protected from use of AI.
“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”
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher.
According to the union, they are currently negotiating with a group of the world’s largest game publishers and entertainment companies. The collective includes Take 2 Productions Inc who are Rockstar Games’ parent company. There is also Activision, Disney, EA, Insomniac Games, WB Games and more.
Voice over and motion capture performers are an integral part of Rockstar Games’ titles. From the latest and greatest in gaming like Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA V to going all the way back to the classics, the actors deserve to be paid fairly and be protected from AI. Previously, Rockstar Games has come under fire for potentially underpaying actors.
What could the impact be?
As we saw in 2023 with the film actors and writers strike, it led to delays for most projects. There were even extreme delays and cancellations. It would not be surprising to see significant delays for some titles.
Those that rely on many union works for a lot of content may find themselves unable to reach milestones or release dates. Though the severity of impact does depend on how long the strike goes on for. If it takes quite some time, there’s always a chance some big games see struggles internally.
GTA 6 Set To Be “Unaffected”
People are already asking could GTA 6 be impacted? Well, following many conflicting reports by both the union and media, it has been cleared up. A spokesperson for the game publishers told Ethan Gach of Kotaku GTA VI is a struck project. This means any SAG-AFTRA members can continue to work on GTA VI.
Take Two’s CEO Strauss Zelnick actually made a statement back in November last year in regards to a potential actors strike. Mr Zelnick said that GTA 6 is “completely protected” from any SAG-AFTRA strike for voice/performance actors. This was before GTA VI had its reveal and rumours of delays.
To keep up to date with every GTA Online news update, make sure to check back to RockstarINTEL and sign up to our newsletter for a weekly round-up of all things Rockstar Games.
Subscribe to our newsletter to get all of the must-read Rockstar Games news stories delivered to your inbox. Plus, we’ll sometimes include some PlayStation and Xbox gift codes for you so keep on the look out!
