Videogame voice actors are officially on strike over AI: 'We refuse this paradigm'

It's happening again: Videogame voice and motion capture actors in the SAG-AFTRA union are going on strike. Over 160,000 performers will refuse to work on games in production at a number of major developers, including Activision, Disney, and EA, until the companies agree to a contract with «critical AI protections» for union members. The strike officially begins on July 26.

The voice actors, who authorized the strike with a 98.32% «yes» vote, want big game makers to inform the union when they plan to use generative AI in a way that would replace the work of actors, and to negotiate compensation when they want to generate material based on an actor's voice or likeness.

The companies in negotiation with the union say that they've already offered AI protections that are «among the strongest in the entertainment industry» and which do include «meaningful AI protections that include requiring consent and fair compensation.»

«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,» said Audrey Cooling, spokesperson for the game producers, in a statement provided to PC Gamer.

The union disagrees. «Although agreements have been reached on many issues important to SAG-AFTRA members, the employers refuse to plainly affirm, in clear and enforceable language, that they will protect all performers covered by this contract in their AI language,» reads the union's strike announcement.

«Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable AI protections, but rather flagrant exploitation,» says actor and union negotiator Sarah Elmaleh. «We refuse this paradigm—we will not leave any of our members behind, nor will we wait for sufficient protection any longer.»

Generative AI voices will arguably never be able to perform as convincingly as real actors, but they have already proven a threat to voice actor livelihoods. Free-to-play FPS The Finals, for instance,