Video game performers last went on strike in 2016 in a work stoppage that lasted nearly a year. Now, SAG-AFTRA is heading back to the picket line.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists announced Thursday that video game performers will go on strike on July 26 at 12:01 a.m. More than 2,500 video game performers — a group that includes voice actors, motion capture performers, and others — head to the picket line after nearly two years of negotiations with a major video game companies.
The biggest sticking point in negotiations is the unrestricted use of artificial intelligence, according to a news release. Video game performers want protections over the use of their likenesses and voices.
“Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable A.I. protections, but rather flagrant exploitation,” SAG-AFTRA interactive media committee chair and Hi-Fi Rush voice actor Sarah Elmaleh said in a news release.
