The Summer of Strike Continues With Video Game Actors Ready To Join The Fight

The Writers Guild of America might be ready to bring their months-long strike action to an end, but that doesn’t mean the Summer of Strike is over. SAG-AFTRA is still working to get the best deal for the actors, which might be helped if the WGA gets their agreement sorted. Soon to join the folks of film and TV on the frontlines are the video game actors.

SAG-AFTRA members have voted 98.32% in favor of a strike authorization on the Interactive Media Agreement that covers members’ work in the video games sector. Thirty-four thousand six hundred eighty-seven members cast ballots, representing a voting percentage of 27.47% of eligible voters. This doesn’t mean a strike is happening just yet. The union will go to the negotiation table with various video game companies who employ actors and bring up their many concerns. The next bargaining session starts today and will continue until September 28th. The video game companies involved include Activision, Electronic Arts, Insomniac Games, and WB Games.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said in a statement:

‘It’s time for the video game companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract. The result of this vote shows our membership understands the existential nature of these negotiations, and that the time is now for these companies — which are making billions of dollars and paying their CEOs lavishly — to give our performers an agreement that keeps performing in video games as a viable career.’

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland added:

‘After five rounds of bargaining, it has become abundantly clear that the video game companies aren’t willing to meaningfully engage on the critical issues: compensation undercut by inflation, unregulated use of AI and safety. I remain hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement that meets members’ needs, but our members are done being exploited, and if these corporations aren’t willing to offer a fair deal, our next stop will be the picket lines.’

The video game industry is an ever-expanding market that has offered increasing numbers of opportunities for both voice actors and those working in motion capture. It’s attracted plenty of major stars, such as Norman Reedus and Elliot Page, over the years too. Last year, voice actors in the field called out low wages, with some being paid under $5000 for games that make hundreds of millions of dollars in profit. In a report from the Guardian, Side Global, one of the outsourcing companies that provides voiceovers for video games, was noted for paying some actors less than $250 an hour, with no protections and zero paid residuals. The threat of AI is a major issue in video games too. Internal emails seen by The New York Times indicated that Activision Blizzard, one of the biggest game publishers in the world, was working on tools for AI-assisted ‘voice cloning.’

The entertainment industry fully exposed how little it cared for the welfare of its workers this year, including those whose faces are front and centre. These matters might be more potent in the video game world, where actors are paid peanuts, given no royalties, constantly threatened with replacement from soundalikes, and close to extinction with the development of AI. Acting is a real job, it deserves all of the labour protections of any other occupation, and one should be able to make a steady living doing so.

Video game performers have said that the very soul of their industry is at threat thanks to underpayment, overwork, and AI. SAG-AFTRA is ready to fight for them. Everyone else should be on their side too.