Video Game Voice Actors Demand Fairness, Strike Over AI

On July 26, voice and motion capture actors for video games went on strike, represented by the SAG-AFTRA union. More than 160,000 performers have gone out on strike against some of the biggest companies in the business, such as Activision, Disney, and EA. Union members are demanding a contract that includes "critical AI protections" to protect their roles against the fast-growing use of artificial intelligence in the industry.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm — (Photo : Deck Nine, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) / Screenshot taken from Steam.)

Concerns Raised Over AI Use

The voice actors agreed to strike with a 98.32 percent "yes" vote once it became clear that game developers were going to steal their work through the use of generative AI without compensation or consent. The union demands notice from companies when they intend to use AI to recreate an actor's voice or likeness, with an agreement clearly stating the minimum standards on compensation every time AI-generated material is derived from an actor's work.

One major fear is that companies would be able to use AI to simply copy an actor's voice and use it forever, avoiding the actual process of hiring them to make new recordings. This isn't some theoretical concern: some games, like free-to-play FPS The Finals, already use AI for voice work instead of hiring actors. A game called Stellaris used AI-generated voices modeled after real actors, but the actors got royalties for the use of their voices.

The Battle for Fair Remuneration

It is the union's position that AI shall not replace actors except when fair remuneration compensation is paid and with truly informed consent. SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland stressed the need for these protections, drawing on similar concerns shared in other media related to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes.

This would not be the first time that video game performers from SAG-AFTRA took action. In 2016, performers walked out over residuals, striking the same companies. That strike lasted almost a year and had visible effects, like actor Ashly Burch not returning to her role as Chloe in Life is Strange: Before the Storm.