Video game voice actors kicked off their Hollywood labor strike at the Warner Bros studios to call for better wages and protection from the spreading influence of generative AI in the industry.
Leading the over 500 video game and Hollywood performers, SAG-AFTRA intends for video game companies to provide the same "informed consent and fair compensation" its performing actors received following their own labor strike 10 months ago.
SAG-AFTRA Launches Pickett Lines for Voice Actors After Failed Negotiations
SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland claimed the work stoppage came after failed negotiations over the past 18 months regarding the new interactive media agreement on AI protections.
Among the primary addressees of the demands were Call of Duty publisher Activision, Walt Disney Co., and Hogwarts Legacy distributor Warner Bros. Games.
The Writers' Guild of America and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, who have also led their own wage strikes earlier, joined the protesters this Thursday in solidarity.
The protest marks the first major labor strike in the video game industry following reports of video game workers unionizing amid generative AI's growing influence and compensation issues within the industry.
Major Video Game Studios Unaffected by 2024 Labor Strike
While smaller video game companies and voice actor studios would be affected by the current SAG-AFTRA labor strike, major game studios are expected to be not affected thanks to their in-house studio.
Game companies like FIFA 2K developer EA Games and Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive would likely be shielded from most effects of the strike as the companies already secured most work from the industry.
Unlike Hollywood performers, game companies often have finished recording voiceovers for their projects years in advance, meaning that any impact would not be seen until many years later.
Game companies also have more leeway than film and TV studios as they can easily contract voice actors from non-affiliated voice studios globally thanks to their international branches.
Experts, however, told Reuters that major publishers would still feel its effect through the affected developer studios they have contracted if the strike "isn't resolved by early September."
