Media union SAG-AFTRA has announced that it’s suspending its video game-focused strike after almost a year thanks to a “tentative agreement” being reached with signatories of the union’s Interactive Media Agreement (IMA).
Suspension of the strike comes just a few days after SAG-AFTRA revealed said “tentative agreement”. In a new post, SAG-AFTRA says its members should “return to work on productions under the IMA, including work promoting or publicizing projects produced under the IMA”.
It’s worth noting that the “tentative agreement” reached today hasn’t been finalized yet. The union says it intends to “meet in special session” later today in order to consider the agreement, so it hasn’t yet been approved.
SAG-AFTRA members elected to strike in July last year, after over eighteen months of negotiation between the union and the companies who signed the Interactive Media Agreement failed to produce a satisfactory deal.
Companies included in the agreement include Activision, Insomniac Games, and EA, and SAG-AFTRA’s original statement on the commencement of the strike claims that these employers refused to “plainly affirm, in clear and enforceable language” that actors would be protected from AI-related abuse of their work or image.
We don’t yet know what the new “tentative agreement” contains, but I think it’s safe to assume the companies have given at least some ground when it comes to AI, since this was referred to as the “sticking point” by SAG-AFTRA last July.
The union will release details of the agreement on its approval, and at that time, the agreement will also be “sent out for ratification by the union’s membership in accordance with established policy”.
Despite SAG-AFTRA’s concerns (and the skepticism of some pretty big industry voices), the use of generative AI is becoming more widespread in gaming.
Companies like PUBG publisher Krafton, as well as industry giants Microsoft and the aforementioned EA, have expressed enthusiasm about generative AI, despite lingering issues regarding copyright infringement and environmental impact.
In particular, though, SAG-AFTRA’s concerns appear to revolve around the use of actors’ likenesses, whether that be appearance or voice, to “hire” them without actually paying them, as well as other potential AI abuses of their work.
We’ll have to wait and see whether the new agreement contains satisfactory protections for union members. Stay tuned for more on this.
