SAG-AFTRA Prepares for Potential Video Game Industry Strike

Rockstar Games, Insomniac, and others could soon be impacted by a strike.

By Cade Onder

SAG-AFTRA, the guild that hundreds of thousands of actors belong to (including major movie and TV stars), is preparing for a potential video game industry strike. Earlier this year, the Writers Guild of America went on strike after being unable to negotiate terms for better pay and conditions with studios. The writers have been on strike since the start of May and as of right now, it looks totally unclear as to when the strike may be resolved. In July, SAG-AFTRA authorized a strike against major Hollywood studios, putting a stop to massive film and TV productions such as Deadpool 3. However, some exceptions have been granted for studios that aren't being struck.

With that said, it looks like the video game industry could be next. SAG-AFTRA's Board has voted unanimously to send out strike authorizations from its members for the video game industry. This means members would vote on whether they would want to strike or not should negotiations with the video game industry fall through. Notable companies that would be struck include: Insomniac Games, Warner Bros., Disney, Activision, EA, Epic Games, and Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar Games' parent company). SAG-AFTRA is seeking better wages, protections against AI, and better working conditions such as vocal stress protections for those in the gaming industry. Negotiations with the aforementioned companies will start on September 26th, so the chance of a gaming industry strike will start to become more of a possibility by the end of the month.

"Here we go again! Now our Interactive (Video Game) Agreement is at a stalemate too. Once again we are facing employer greed and disrespect. Once again artificial intelligence is putting our members in jeopardy of reducing their opportunity to work. And once again, SAG-AFTRA is standing up to tyranny on behalf of its members," said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. "The overlap of these two SAG-AFTRA contracts is no coincidence, but rather a predictable issue impacting our industry as well as others all over the world. The disease of greed is spreading like wildfire ready to burn workers out of their livelihoods and humans out of their usefulness. We at SAG-AFTRA say NO! Not on our watch!" 

"The voice and performance capture artists who bring video game characters to life deserve a contract that reflects the value they bring to the multibillion-dollar gaming industry," SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland explained. "Voice and performance capture AI are already among the most advanced uses of AI: the threat is here and it is real. Without contractual protections, the employers are asking performers to unknowingly participate in the extinction of their artistry and livelihoods." 

Video Games That Could Be Impacted By a SAG-AFTRA Strike

The companies that SAG-AFTRA have mentioned are some of the largest video game developers and publishers out there, meaning a number of huge games would be impacted in some way. These games include: Grand Theft Auto VI (Take-Two), Motive's Iron Man game (EA), Call of Duty (Activision), Wonder Woman (Warner Bros.), Marvel's Wolverine (Insomniac Games), and many others. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 likely wouldn't be affected by a strike despite Insomniac Games being mentioned, as it will be less than a month away from releasing when a strike could feasibly take place.

Has SAG-AFTRA Had a Video Game Industry Strike Before?

In October 2016, a strike against 11 video game publishers/developers (including some of the ones we've already mentioned) was initiated. It lasted 340 days and was the longest strike in the history of SAG-AFTRA. The union asked for residuals for video game projects, but the studios pushed back against this request as they deemed it as trivializing the work of the developers themselves. Although they eventually came to a conclusion, they were not able to secure residuals, but instead got the studios to agree to a sliding pay-scale and a variety of other changes to how projects are disclosed to actors auditioning for a role. The strike didn't appear to cause any delays in projects, but Life is Strange: Before the Storm did replace actress Ashley Burch in the role of Chloe for its first episode.

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