Video game performers have been striking since July 26, 2024, and the negotiations remain “distant”, according to the actors of the Guild – the American federation of television and radio artists. The main negotiator of Sag-aftra, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and the interactive negotiating chairwoman of the media Sarah Elmaleh, sent a letter to members on Tuesday, dividing the negotiations update. The adhesive point is still the utilize of artificial intelligence and the utilize of “digital replicas” of video games.
“They want to use all previous performances and all the results that they can obtain from outside the contract, without any protection, in general,” wrote Crabtree-Ireland and Elmaleh. “You can’t say anything about the replica used, he didn’t offer anything in the form of payments and you didn’t do anything about it. They want to be able to make your replica continue, like you, during the future strike, whether you like it or not. And when you experience your specific consent to the way your replica is used, they refuse to tell you what they actually did with it. “
According to the rules of the strike, video games contractors can continue working on games, which have already been in production from August 25, 2024. Zenless zone zero AND Top legends They are technically an straightforward game. But some companies such as Riot games League of LegendsThey are clearly hit because of the alleged bad behavior of the company he uses to employ voice actors, Formosa Interactive. Formosa Interactive is one of several companies negotiating from SAG-aftra as a group; Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, Imnac Games and several others are also part of the group.
However, voice actors and other video games performers – even these NO In a relationship – he can refrain from working in Solidarity, even from projects that are not technically hit. It happened with at least two Zenless zone zero Voice actors who replaced themselves because of their reluctance to work on a project not covered by the momentary SAG-AFRA agreement, which would ensure the protection of AI, which the Union fights for.
“I was replaced as a soldier 11 because I do not want to work, which is not covered by the temporary agreement of the SAG during the strike on the protection of AI, the result of which will determine the future of our industry”, ” Emeri Chase, who expressed Soldier 11, wrote on BlueSky. Nicholas Thurkettle, who expressed Lycaon, He said at BlueSky, made a “personal choice” and has been replaced since then. Thurkettle said in a separate post that he learned about the replacement when Zenless zone zero The update was launched. “I divide your shock,” he wrote. Several Other voice actors were placed in AugustBut it was never confirmed why.
Chase told Polygon on Wednesday that they could not work on a game that is not covered by temporary or multi-knowledge SAG-aftra contracts, noticing that the strike is “probably the most crucial that industry has ever had.
“Although there are many projects not related to relationships that offer AI protection clauses in their contracts, if the company violates these contracts, or if another company will draw clips from the Internet and train artificial intelligence on them, the actor pay for legal services necessary for the fight. I can’t speak on behalf of every actor, but most of us have no money sitting to do it at a time, “they said. “These are the only contracts in which they properly protect my control over my voice, placing the SAG-aftra legal team in my corner if something goes wrong.”
Hoyoverse, what he does Zenless zone zeroHe decided to leave several of her characters unable in English because the voice actors are inaccessible during the strike. When The influence of Genshin Update when the silence was noticeable in October. But the Sag-aftra strike also affects other video games in the whole industry: in February some Destiny 2 The characters were also unintentional. However, like Hoyoverse Z Zenless zone zeroActivision Blizzard Apparently he decided to replace several voice actors Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
As the strike lasts, and more up-to-date video games enter the production, the impact of the strike may enhance. The influence of the utilize of artificial intelligence in video games can also enhance: voice actor Mika Nerida took on Tuesday to X to accuse the independent game Castle of Secrets Developer Serene Questworks Replacing all your voice actors with “voices trained by AI”. The day before, Verge published a report on the prototyping of Sony Interactive Entertainment “” “AII AII version Horizon forbidden West. “It seems that the video does not show AI Aloy using the voice of the voice actor Ashly Burg, but technology is potentially an example of this kind of utilize of SAG-aftra, which is looking for clarity. (Polygon contacted Sony and Burche in order to clarify the voice operating in the demo.) Nvidia too, is working on similar technology. Even outside the Sag-aftra parameters, video game actors want security: the whole French Top legends to throw Apparently he refused to sign a contract with the entertainment of Respawn This would allow the company to utilize voices to train artificial intelligence.
Sag-aftra published a chart This clearly determines how negotiations with video games are going, showing between two groups in the utilize of AI; They both agreed to most other proposals. AI’s biggest problems concern “digital replicas” that video games want to describe as performances that can be “objectively identified” as an actor; The union claims that most of their work does not apply there, so he wants to take into account the language that ensures that the contracts identify the actor in a given role. Then the union wants to protect entities against digital replicas built using a work created before the up-to-date contract. This protection is also dispute; The relationship wants transparency, compensation, rules of utilize – giving actors the right to eat the utilize of established time frames to know how their voices are used and then compensate.
Chase, the Zenless zone zero Voice actor, he called the responses of the companies “absolutely crazy”.
Audrey Cooling, a representative of companies negotiating from SAG-aftra, provided a statement containing the undertaking of negotiating companies. “We have proposed a contract covering wage increase by over 15% for SAG-aftra represented contractors in video games, as well as increased health and safety protection, the conditions of use in the field of AI in the game in the game and additional compensation for using the actor’s results in other games,” he said. “We have made a significant progress and we are happy to return to the tender table to achieve a contract.”
Update: This story has been updated about the statement of video game companies involved in the negotiations of SAG-aftra, as well as from Zenless zone zero Voice actor Emeri Chase.
