Striking Back: SAG-AFTRA’s Fight for AI Protections in the Video Game Industry

Introduction

In July 2024, SAG-AFTRA  pressed pause on the use of union talent in video game productions, striking for stronger legal protections in response to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry.[1] Following failed negotiations over a new Interactive Media Agreement, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is the labor union that authorized the strike against major video game companies, including Disney Character Voices Inc., Epic Games Inc., Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc.[2]

Performers were not asking for studios to stop using AI technology altogether.[3] Instead, performers demanded that studios include contract provisions that ensured adequate compensation and required informed consent before their voice, performance, or likeness was digitally replicated using AI.[4] As AI is rapidly reshaping the video game industry, SAG-AFTRA’s strike underscored the importance of protecting performers’ right of publicity.

SAG-AFTRA’s Fight for Performers’ Right of Publicity

Codified in California law, the right of publicity prohibits the replication of a person’s name, voice or likeness for commercial purposes without their prior consent.[5] Digital replicas are recreations of a person' s likeness using any technological means.[6] Recognizing the economic and emotional harm performers endure when their digital image and voice rights are violated, SAG-AFTRA continues to advocate for stronger legal safeguards to prevent future violations, especially in the face of emerging technologies like AI.[7]

In July 2023, SAG-AFTRA union members went on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) over similar concerns—using AI to re-create performers’ likeness.[8] After striking for five months, SAG-AFTRA was able to negotiate an agreement.[9] An actor’s clear consent would be required before studios digitally replicated them, along with a “reasonably specific description” of how they intend to use the replica.[10]

Moreover, in April 2024, SAG-AFTRA’s National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, testified in support of the federal NO FAKES Act.[11] The Act prohibits the creation and use of digital replicas without informed consent.[12] Crabtree-Ireland spoke of the potential risks posed by AI, and how its rapid development will accelerate the creation of fake and unauthorized digital replicas of union members.[13]

Building on these efforts, SAG-AFTRA’s fight to protect performers’ rights expanded to the video game industry, where AI is playing a significant role in game creation and development.[14]

Effects of AI in the Video Game Industry

As AI technologies advance video game development, many video game actors’ are increasingly concerned about potential job displacement and loss of rights.[15] Game companies are testing AI tools to clone or modify voices, reducing the need for performers to record extensive dialogue.[16] AI tools offer studios a more efficient and cheaper alternative.[17] Accordingly, voice actors and performers are afraid of studios creating digital replicas of their voice and likeness without informed consent or fair compensation.[18]

Therefore, some actors stress the importance of reading contracts closely.[19] One voice actress, Cissy Jones, has brought attention to an employment contract that would have allowed her employer to create and use a digital replica of her voice indefinitely, without additional compensation.[20] Additionally, she is one of many voice artists that have discovered that their voice is being used without their consent in unapproved projects.[21]

Leading up to the strike, more actors started expressing concerns about the elimination of entry-level roles, such as background characters and non-player characters (NPCs), which can be a necessary bridge to bigger opportunities.[22] These smaller roles are pivotal for some actors who need the confidence and experience before pursuing leading roles.[23] Moreover, some actors argued that the use of AI diminishes the quality of their performance and creative efforts, which reduces the overall quality of video games produced in the future.[24]

The Strike

In response to these growing concerns regarding the use of AI, SAG-AFTRA had been negotiating a new Interactive Media Agreement since 2022, to include stronger contract protections for union members.[25] SAG-AFTRA was primarily fighting for informed consent and fair compensation when video game studios use AI to create and use digital replicas.[26] Additional demands included increased wages in response to inflation, more allocated break time, and more medics on dangerous sets.[27]

A major dispute during negotiation involved the definition of performers under the new agreement.[28] SAG-AFTRA defines body doubles and “motion capture” artists—people who use their body to render movement—as performers.[29] For motion capture work to look realistic, performers must wear full-body suits with sensors to render humanistic movements.[30] For video game companies, these performances were treated as data and reference points for animation.[31] The studios did not want to grant body movement performers the same AI protections offered to performers whose faces and voices were used.[32] By not offering them the same compensation and AI protections, performers are worried that the studios are devaluing their performances, despite the need for human performers to create realistic movements.[33]

After 18 months of negotiating, SAG-AFTRA authorized the strike, which went into effect on July 26, 2024.[34] The strike prohibited union performers from engaging in acting, stunts, motion capture work, authorizing the use of their likeness, and promoting games.[35] The strike halted production before the winter holiday season, when video game companies make more than half of their annual sales.[36]

However, during the strike, the union signed 80 game agreements that demanded the same AI protections they were striking for.[37] These agreements allowed smaller studios, such as Little Bat Games, to continue working with union talent without halting production.[38] Simultaneously, it allowed some union performers to find employment during the strike.[39] A key provision in the agreements required studios to notify performers—either at auditions or when they got the job offer—if the company was planning to create their digital replica.[40] Another provision permitted performers to bargain for increased pay and required their consent before the companies could create the replica.[41]

End of Strike and AI Protections Won by Union Members

After 11 long months, SAG-AFTRA authorized the end of the strike on July 9, 2025. SAG-AFTRA was able to ratify a new Interactive Media Agreement (IMA) with stronger AI protections for union members.[42]

The Agreement provides consent and disclosure requirements for AI-generated digital replicas.[43] Performers must give clear, written and signed consent to both the creation and use of their Vocal or Visual Digital Replica.[44] The consent must be conspicuous and not hidden in the fine print of their contract.[45] These consent requirements extend to Independently Created Digital Replicas (ICDRs), which are replicas created from performers without an IMA-covered employment contract.[46] Additionally, the disclosure must include a “reasonably specific description” of how the replica will be used, including what genre the performer will appear in, whether there is sexual content or violence involved, and the length of their role.[47] This protection extends to real-time dialogue generation—dialogue not pre-recorded—by a Vocal Digital Replica or an ICDR.[48] Additionally, to prevent the exploitation of their likeness, performers will have the right to suspend their consent to the use of their AI-generated digital replica during a strike.[49]

Regarding compensation, the Agreement increases pay at a rate of 15.17%, followed by 3% increases in November 2025, 2026, and 2027.[50] Performers will earn at least a session fee for every 300 lines generated for Vocal Digital Replicas.[51] When studios use Visual Digital Replicas, performers will be paid for the number of production days that the performer would have been required to work in-person, determinable by the employer in good faith.[52] Additionally, the performer must receive a one-time Secondary Performance Payment (SSP) if their covered digital performance is used in another game.[53] The Agreement also mandates that performers will receive usage reports within 90 days of the game's public release, which includes information regarding the use of their Digital Replica—the characters derived from the replica and corresponding payment information.[54] As AI is increasingly integrated into the video game industry, these legal protections ensure that studios are held accountable, and that performers’ likeness and voices are safeguarded.

Looking Ahead: Legislative Safeguards

The protections won from the strike represent a significant victory amidst growing concerns over AI use, but they are only the first step; the overarching mission requires long-term legal safeguards for performers as AI technology continues to evolve.[55]

Continued experimentation and game development with AI tools calls for stronger protections that may be found through legislative action.[56] As previously mentioned, the NO FAKES Act would provide federal protection against misuse of performers’ likeness and promote responsible use of AI technology.[57] This would protect not only video game performers, but the rights of all artists who worry about the unauthorized use of their image and voice.[58]

The growing legislative support for the Act reflects the entertainment industry's need for balance, between encouraging the development of AI technology and ensuring adequate compensation for artists.

[1] Samantha Masunaga & Christi Carras, Video game actors are on strike. Here’s what that means, L.A. Times (July 24, 2024), https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-07-27/video-game-actors-strike-explained-sag-aftra.

[2]Mission Statement, SAG-AFTRA, https://www.sagaftra.org/about/mission-statement; SAG-AFTRA Strikes Video Games Over A.I., SAG-AFTRA (Aug. 16, 2024), https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-strikes-video-games-over-ai.

[3] Masunaga & Carras, supra note 1.

[4] Masunaga & Carras, supra note 1; SAG-AFTRA, supra note 2.

[5] Cal. Civ. Code § 3364 (West).

[6]Digital Image Rights & Right of Publicity, SAG-AFTRA, https://www.sagaftra.org/get-involved/government-affairs-public-policy/digital-image-rights-right-publicity.

[7]Id.

[8] Lindsay Lowe & Candice Williams, The SAG-AFTRA strike in Hollywood, explained, Today (Nov. 11, 2023), https://www.today.com/popculture/hollywood-actors-sag-strike-2023-explained-rcna94122.

[9]Id.

[10]SAG-AFTRA Members Approve 2023 TV/Theatrical Contracts Tentative Agreement, SAG-AFTRA (Dec. 5, 2023), https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-members-approve-2023-tvtheatrical-contracts-tentative-agreement; Gene Maddaus, SAG-AFTRA Ratifies Contract, Officially Ending Historic Labor Dispute, Variety (Dec. 5, 2023), https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/sag-aftra-ratifies-contract-1235822165/.

[11]SAG-AFTRA Advocates for A.I. Protections on Capitol Hill, SAG-AFTRA (May 1, 2024), https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-advocates-ai-protections-capitol-hill.

[12]Id.

[13]Id.

[14] David Smith, ‘It’s very easy to steal someone’s voice’: how AI is affecting video game actors, The Guardian (Mar. 29, 2024), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/29/how-ai-is-affecting-video-game-actors.

[15]Id.; Sarah Parvini, Hollywood’s video game actors want to avoid a strike. The sticking point in their talks? AI, Associated Press (June 27, 2024), https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-sagaftra-videogame-voiceactors-ai-56c023dbe60ff3647ac878a877aeaacd.

[16] Maddaus, supra note 10.

[17]Id.

[18]Id.

[19]Id.

[20]Id.

[21] Maddaus, supra note 10; Margi Murphy, Voice Actors ‘Shocked’ to Find AI Copying Their Speech, Tone, Bloomberg (Apr. 19, 2023), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-04-19/voice-actors-shocked-to-find-ai-copying-their-speech-tone; Josh Taylor, AI voice synthesising is being hailed as the future of video games – but at what cost?, The Guardian (May 13, 2023), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/14/ai-voice-synthesising-is-being-hailed-as-the-future-of-video-games-but-at-what-cost.

[22] Maddaus, supra note 10; Parvini, supra note 15.

[23] Parvini, supra note 15.

[24] Maddaus, supra note 10; Parvini, supra note 15.

[25] Masunaga & Carras, supra note 1.

[26]Id.

[27]Id.

[28] Sarah Parvini, Video game actors are now on strike. Here’s why, Associated Press (July 26, 2024), https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-sagaftra-ai-video-games-78cfef710817dcdcedc51378729a017c; Mandalit del Barco, AI is changing video games — and striking performers want their due, NPR (Aug. 14, 2024), https://www.npr.org/2024/08/14/nx-s1-5072638/video-game-strike-ai-animation-sag-aftra#:~:text=Video%20game%20performers%20call%20strike,them%20fairly%20for%20its%20use..

[29]Id.

[30]Id.

[31] Parvini, supra note 28; Del Barco, supra note 28.

[32] Del Barco, supra note 28.

[33]Id.

[34] SAG-AFTRA, supra note 2.

[35] Masunaga & Carras, supra note 1.

[36]Id.

[37] Kaitlyn Huamani, Video game performers reach agreement with 80 video games on AI terms, Associated Press (Sep. 5, 2024), https://apnews.com/article/video-game-actors-strike-sag-aftra-97b288fa74f148790cf82899c4a05848; Katie Kilkenny, SAG-AFTRA Says 80 Video Games Signed to Deals During Strike Against Major Studios, The Hollywood Reporter (Sep. 4, 2024), https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/lightspeed-la-signs-sag-aftra-interim-agreement-1235991436/.

[38]Id.

[39]Id.

[40]Id.

[41]Id.

[42]SAG-AFTRA Members Approve 2025 Video Game Agreement, SAG-AFTRA (July 9, 2025), https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-members-approve-2025-video-game-agreement.

[43]Id.

[44] Summary of 2025 Interactive Media (Video Game) Agreement (“IMA”), SAG-AFTRA, https://www.sagaftra.org/sites/default/files/2025-06/2025%20Interactive%20Media%20%28Video%20Game%29%20Agreement%20Summary.pdf.

[45]Id.

[46]Id.

[47]Id.

[48]Id.

[49]Id.

[50]Id.

[51]Id.

[52]Id.

[53]Id.

[54]Id.

[55] Danielle Broadway, Industry video game actors pass agreement with studios for AI security, Reuters (July 10, 2025), https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/industry-video-game-actors-pass-agreement-with-studios-ai-security-2025-07-10/.

[56]Id.

[57] NO FAKES Act, H.R. 2794, 118th Congress (2025-2026); Nina Frazier, NO FAKES Act Introduced In The Senate: Protecting Artists' Rights In The Age Of AI, Recording Academy (Aug. 9, 2024), https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/no-fakes-act-introduced-in-the-senate.

[58]Id.