Hollywood actors to go on strike against video game companies

Los Angeles: The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists called a strike Thursday against video game companies that use actors' images or voices in games, echoing its broader strike against television and movie studios last year. The strike will start at 12:01 am Pacific time Friday, after more than a year and a half of negotiations.

Until the latest strike is resolved, members of the 160,000-person union will no longer "act" in video games produced by Activision Blizzard, WB Games, Electronic Arts and seven other companies covered by an interactive-media agreement. The agreement expired in November 2022, and last summer the union terminated an extension. (Games that were in production as of September 2023, including so-called live service games like Fortnite, which are updated continuously, are not subject to this strike order.)

SAG-AFTRA's demands are similar to those it sought from television and movie studios last year: higher wages and job protections from the threat of artificial intelligence.

"We're not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members," Fran Drescher, the union's president, said in a statement. "Enough is enough."

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union's executive director and chief negotiator, added, "Frankly, it's stunning that these video game studios haven't learned anything from the lessons of the last year -- that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to AI."

The union also wants video game companies to improve safety on sets, such as having a medic on site.

"We are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations," the consortium of companies said in a statement. "Our offer is directly responsive to SAG-AFTRA's concerns and extends meaningful AI protections."

The companies added, "We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions."

The union last went on strike against video game companies in 2016, for nearly a year.

Some popular video games over the years have featured well-known actors, like Keanu Reeves, who appears in the dystopian sci-fi game Cyberpunk, and Samuel L. Jackson, who voices a character in a Grand Theft Auto game. But more often, video games are a starting point for more obscure actors looking to break into voice acting.

The union's strike against television and movie studios -- combined with a separate strike by the Writers Guild of America, which represents screenwriters -- brought Hollywood assembly lines to a standstill for six months last year.

Blockbuster video games often take much longer to develop and produce than television episodes or movies, so any impact from a strike would not be visible to consumers for years, and even then the disruption to the industry could be minimal. Despite lasting nearly a year, the 2016 strike had little impact on established video game franchises.