Since July 2024, members of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) have been on strike regarding the use of their work and likeness in games, and new concerns are poised to extend the strike. A message sent to union members cites “alarming loopholes” that threaten members and leave them “vulnerable to AI abuse,” based on information shared with Eurogamer.
Yuri Lowenthal, the voice of Spider-Man, spoke with Variety earlier this month and summed up the situation well. “It boils down to three things for me. One is consent that you don’t use the data that you’ve recorded from us to manufacture a performance that we had no say over. Two, compensation: if you’re going to do something like that, then we deserve a piece of that. Otherwise, actors won’t get paid anymore, and it’s all over for us. And three: control, being able to track that sort of stuff and know where it’s going.”
The situation is complicated, with numerous moving parts and varied opinions, but Lowenthal’s statement gives you the gist of the guild’s concerns. Many voice actors, including Jennifer Hale (the voice of female Shepard in Mass Effect)
Audrey Cooling, spokesperson for the video game producer’s party, responded to SAG-AFTRA’s concerns with the following statement (also shared with Eurogamer). “We have proposed a deal that includes wage increases of over 15 percent for SAG-AFTRA represented performers in video games, as well as enhanced health and safety protections, industry-leading terms of use for AI digital replicas in-game and additional compensation for the use of an actor’s performance in other games.”
SAG-AFTRA has not publicly responded to the latest proposal. Until an agreement is reached that the guild feels is beneficial to its members, the strike is likely to continue. SAG has encouraged non-affiliated members to turn down work until video game studios agree to the terms.
This is not the first time voice actors have striked over career concerns. Another strike lasted from late 2016 until 2017 over fair compensation, with an agreement finally being reached in September 2017.
