Topline
Members of SAG-AFTRA near unanimously voted in favor of authorizing a strike against video game publishers, setting a stage for a second strike for the actor’s union amid an ongoing strike against film and TV studios.
SAG-AFTRA members voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike against video game … [+]
Key Facts
SAG-AFTRA said its members voted 98.32% in favor of authorizing a strike, as the union engages in negotiations with video game companies on the Interactive Media Agreement, which governs acting work on games.
The actor’s union will hold its next set of negotiations with the video game companies starting on Tuesday and hopes the “added leverage of a successful strike authorization vote” pushes the companies to offer significant concessions on various issues where both sides remain far apart.
Video game companies involved in the negotiation process include Activision, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Epic Games, Take 2, VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games.
SAG-AFTRA’s leaders criticized video game companies for failing to address issues about “compensation undercut by inflation” and “exploitative uses” of AI.
A spokesperson representing the video game companies told the Hollywood Reporter they would “continue to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement,” and “are optimistic we can find a resolution at the bargaining table.”
Crucial Quote
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said: “It’s time for the video game companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract…the time is now for these companies — which are making billions of dollars and paying their CEOs lavishly — to give our performers an agreement that keeps performing in video games as a viable career.”
Big Number
340 days. That is the longest strike in SAG-AFTRA’s history, undertaken by video game performers from October 2016 to September 2017.
Key Background
In October 2016, SAG-AFTRA’s video game performers began a nearly year long strike against 11 major video game companies including EA, Activision, Disney, Take-Two Interactive, Insomniac Games and others, seeking better pay and working conditions. The strike lasted nearly a year as the games studios finally agreed to a deal in September 23, 2017, which was ratified by the union’s members in November that year. The three year deal signed that year was set to expire in 2020, but was extended twice, to November 2022 and November 2023.
Further Reading
SAG-AFTRA video game performers are voting to authorize a strike, too (Polygon)