SAG-AFTRA video game actors strike over AI, forcing industry to examine its role in game development

The role of video game performers—who do far more than “voice acting” in today’s world of performance capture—is often an unsung one, with only extremely prolific actors like Troy Baker managing to breach mainstream consciousness. Perhaps this is why execs seem so desperate to replace them with AI.

SAG-AFTRA, the union that oversees eligible video game actors, has been negotiating with big names in the industry for more than a year and a half, according to union president Fran Drescher. These negotiations were begun with the goal of implementing robust protections for actors to prevent abuse of AI by studios, including training models based on their voices without compensation or even replacing them with AI altogether. Discussions have evidently stalled, so SAG-AFTRA reached for the nuclear option: a strike with the potential to bring the entire industry to a halt.

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