Yesterday’s dramatic announcement of strike action by video game actors over AI concerns may have less of an immediate impact on upcoming titles than first thought.
While the SAG-AFTRA union has indeed voted for voice artists and performance capture personnel to strike from today, a large swathe of projects now appear unaffected.
This includes any video game in development as of a year ago, including (for now) live service games, according to statements from both SAG-AFTRA and the companies the strike will hit, obtained by Kotaku reporter Ethan Gach.
Looking down the release schedule for the remainder of this year and into 2025, this will cover the vast majority of blockbuster titles whose development has stretched back several years.
Last night, there had been concern among GTA fans and unclear reporting as to the impact of the strike on the game’s publisher Take-Two. But it’s safe to say GTA6 has been in development long enough not to be affected.
This will also include games such as October’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and November’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows, as well as the upcoming Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Eurogamer has contacted EA, Activision, Ubisoft and Take-Two for comment.
“Due to certain provisions in the IMA [Interactive Media Agreement] contract, games that were in production at the time that the union provided the company its notice of termination are not currently subject to strike order. Most notices were sent in September 2022,” SAG-AFTRA wrote.
As for live-service games, while these could be impacted in future, there’s also a 60-day grace period where work can continue for now. In other words, the strike would have to last more than two months before this kicked in.
“We served a separate notice relating to live service games, which we can strike in less than 60 days,” SAG-AFTRA continued. “We will update the membership if we expand the strike order to include those games closer to that time.”
A statement from the companies potentially impacted by the strike says similar, though notes an even more recent cut-off point for exemption from strike activity.
“The language in the IMA is clear that video games that were already in production prior to 25th August 2023, including live service games, are not subject to the strike and remain covered by the ongoing terms of the 2020-2022 IMA. Performers would not be in violation of the strike order if they continue working on these games.”
This morning, UK actors’ union Equity said it stood “in solidarity” with SAG-AFTRA, but wouldn’t authorise its own strike.