Eighty games have signed SAG-AFTRA staggered-budget or interim agreements, which the entertainment union says demonstrates that its provisions — which include reasonable AI safeguards — are fair and enforceable.
The union has been on strike against major game developers since July, and these temporary and tiered contracts provide members with employment opportunities during the work stoppage. This agreement will allow members to work, but it does not mean the strike is completely over. The actual AI protections have also not yet been detailed.
Today’s announcement is as follows Wednesday’s News that (*80*) LA has agreed to produce current and future games, including Last Sentinel, under the interim SAG-AFTRA interactive media agreement.
Various game developers who have signed limited-budget or temporary video game deals have also made statements of support.
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“Little Bat Games is proud to partner with SAG-AFTRA to ensure top voice actors are properly compensated and protected,” the game company said in a statement. “As a small studio working on a game about psychology, we always advocate for protecting human interests and appreciate SAG-AFTRA’s help in holding the industry accountable.”
“I support SAG-AFTRA activists in this strike and hope that AI protections will be ensured,” said programmer Francisco Gonzalez.
Jeremy Stieglitz, Director of Development at Studio Wildcard, said, “Studio Wildcard has a partnership with production company Noah Protocol for all SAG-AFTRA member voice acting in video games, starting with ARK Survival Evolved and beyond. SAG-AFTRA allowed us to work with top talent using standard union contracts, which has been a huge benefit to the quality and consistency of the voice work in our games.”
In addition, some games that weren’t covered by the strike order have voluntarily signed agreements, demonstrating a clear need for and desire to protect SAG-AFTRA talent. These signatories include games that have ceased production and have signed an interim agreement that protects past and future acts from unregulated use of AI.
SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement Negotiation Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh said, “This labor action is about creating work with sufficient AI protections. The overwhelming number of companies that have signed SAG-AFTRA agreements demonstrates how sound these protections are. We are thrilled that our actors will continue to work under fair union contracts with companies that know how invaluable our performers are to their games.”
SAG-AFTRA Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement, “We appreciate those video game companies that have signed our tiered and interim budget agreements. Not only are they doing the right thing by their employees, they are also helping to preserve the human art, ingenuity and creativity that fuels interactive storytelling. These agreements signal that video game companies in the collective bargaining group do not represent the will of the larger video game industry. The many companies that willingly agree to our AI terms demonstrate that these terms are not only reasonable, but also workable and sustainable for businesses.”
The SAG-AFTRA strike in the video game industry began July 26 after greater than 18 months of negotiations ended inconclusively. Employers rejected the union’s proposals for consent, compensation and transparency around the use of artificial intelligence, and as an alternative responded with loopholes that negated the protections they claimed to offer.