New Actors' Strike Called After Contract Talks Fail Over AI Disagreements

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Actors who work on video games will go on strike this week after contract talks between SAG-AFTRA and game producers reached an impasse, the union announced Thursday.

The strike begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday and will include some 2,600 video-game actors covered by a contract that expired nearly two years ago. Actors — whose work includes voiceovers and motion-capture performances — have been working under the lapsed contract as the two sides have attempted to neogitate.

SAG-AFTRA is seeking a new contract that would require producers to obtain their consent before reproducing their voices or likenesses with artificial intelligence.

"We're not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough," SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement. "When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate."

The disagreement mirrors the AI-related sticking points that help fueled the film and TV actors and writers strikes last year.

"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 A.I., and the public supports us in that," SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said.

Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game producers, told the Los Angeles Times that the companies were negotiating "in good faith" and pointed out that the two parties had "reached tentative agreements on the vast majority of the proposals."

She added the companies remained optimistic that a deal was within reach.

But SAG-AFTRA's Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair, Sarah Elmaleh, said that 18 months of negotiations "have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable AI protections, but rather flagrant exploitation."

During last year's Hollywood actors' strike, residuals and AI became major issues. The strike, which lasted 118 days, ended with a deal that included wage increases, AI safeguards, streaming bonuses and other improvements.

City News Service contributed to this report.