SAG-AFTRA Sets First Video Game Picket Line at Warner Bros.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and members of the Interactive Agreement negotiating committee will be demonstrating from 9:00 a.m. to noon

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Striking SAG-AFTRA video game actors has set their first picket line for Thursday, Aug. 1 outside of WB Games, the guild announced Tuesday.

From 9:00 to noon, guild members will assemble outisde of Gate 5 on Warner Bros. lot at the corner of Warner Blvd. and South Avon Street in Burbank (91522), with parking nearby on Riverside Drive.

Sarah Elmaleh, chair of the SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating (IMA) Committee and committee members Zeke Alton, Ashly Burch, Andi Norris will be on hand alongside the guild’s National Executive Director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. Many other SAG-AFTRA members, labor allies and video game fans are also expected.

The strike began on July 25 when, after 18 months, negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and the major developers covered under the Interactive Media Agreement broke down. As with the double Hollywood strike of 2023, the impasse was primarily due to a range of issues connected to so-called artificial intelligence.

According to Elmaleh and Interactive Agreement lead negotiator Ray Rodriguez, the disagreement hinged on industry counteroffers that they say were designed to leave as many loopholes as possible to replicate actors’ performances without permission.

Essentially motion capture performances would only be protected if the final version in the video game resembled the actor. Similarly, they said, voice actors would only be protected if their character’s voices noticably resembled their own and even then, there were loopholes undermining this. Read more here.

In a statement released Thursday on behalf of the video game producers signed on to the Interactive Media Agreement, spokesperson Audrey Cooling said they were “disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations.”

“We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions. Our offer is directly responsive to SAG-AFTRA’s concerns and extends meaningful AI protections that include requiring consent and fair compensation to all performers working under the IMA. These terms are among the strongest in the entertainment industry,” Cooling said.

The Interactive Agreement covers several of the largest video game developers, including Activision, EA, WB Games, Disney and Take Two as well as voiceover production companies Formosa Interactive and VoiceWorks Productions.

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