Video Game Actors Call for Fair Contract Amid Rising Costs of Living

“We haven’t had a rise in five years, four years maybe, and prices have gone up. Our rates haven’t gone up,” said Ms Jones, a BAFTA winner for her voice as Delilah in the video game “Firewatch” by Campo Santo. Ms. Jones is covered by a contract with video game manufacturers negotiated by SAG-AFTRA.

Voice and motion capture players in the multibillion-dollar video game industry voted overwhelmingly Monday to authorize a strike if negotiations on a new labor contract, due to begin Tuesday, fail, paving the way for another work stoppage in Hollywood.

According to SAG-AFTRA, 34,687 members voted, or 27.47% of eligible voters.

SAG-AFTRA is the same union that represents film and television actors who went on strike in July, plunging Hollywood into two simultaneous work stoppages for the first time in more than sixty years.

In May, some 11,500 members of the Writers Guild of America walked out. The screenwriters’ union reached a preliminary agreement with the major studios on Sunday.

The SAG-AFTRA agreement covering video game artists expired last November and was extended on a monthly basis as the union negotiated with major video game companies.

“We all want a fair contract that reflects the important contributions of the performers represented by SAG-AFTRA in an industry that provides world-class entertainment to billions of players around the world,” said Audrey Cooling, spokesperson. word, in a press release published on behalf of the companies.

AI CONCERNS

The video game industry generated total revenues of $180.3 billion in 2021 and is expected to generate revenues of $218.8 billion by 2024, according to data analytics firm Newzoo.

With video game console sales on the rise in 2023, PlayStation maker Sony said in July that it expected to sell 25 million units of PS5 consoles this year, a record for any PlayStation device.

With profits rising, staff at video game companies, in addition to artists covered by SAG-AFTRA, unionized for the first time this year.

In July, Sega workers formed the largest multi-department video game union in the United States, after Microsoft video game testers formed their first U.S. union in January.

Besides compensation, video game artists represented by SAG-AFTRA say the most pressing issues under negotiation include requiring Disney, Activision, EA, Epic Games and others to consult with artists about use of artificial intelligence to create voices, which some of these companies are already doing.

Artificial intelligence has been a problem for screenwriters as well as striking actors covered by television, theater and streaming contracts.

For video game actors, the union is also calling for more safety measures for motion capture artists, who wear markers or sensors on their skin or bodysuits to help game makers create the movements of video game actors. characters.

“These are people who work a lot in games. They do stunts, but also perform on stage as different characters, embody them, memorize dialogues to synchronize them correctly, etc.,” explains actor Ashly Burch, who has done motion capture as well as voice work for video games.

The union is demanding that on-set performers receive the same five minutes of rest per hour as off-set performers, SAG-AFTRA said in a statement posted on its website.

They also require that a set technician be present during dangerous stunts, as is the case on film and television sets.

For Ms Jones, the power of AI became clear 18 months ago, when she saw that a fan had created videos on the social media platform TikTok that included a scene from the channel’s animated series Disney that she performed, “The Owl House”.

“They were using an AI version of my voice in these fan scenes,” she said.

“I panicked,” she added. “It’s the only way I make money. It’s the only way I work right now. It’s how I feed my kids and send them to school. Someone had taken my voice without my consent.