End the Strike! Video Game Players Reach Key AI Agreement

After nearly a year of strikes, the actors' union SAG-AFTRA and major video game companies have reached a tentative contract agreement. The pact establishes crucial "guardrails" for performers against the use of Artificial Intelligence in the industry.

A milestone for the digital entertainment industry and labor rights in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) was reached on June 10, 2025. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), the influential union representing thousands of actors, announced a tentative contract agreement with a group of major video game companies. This pact could end a strike that lasted almost a year, since July 2024, and whose main sticking point was the protection of performers from the advance of AI.

AI: An Existential Threat to Actors

SAG-AFTRA's main concern was the unregulated use of AI in video game creation. The union argued that this technology posed an "equal or even greater threat" to video game actors than to their counterparts in film and television, due to the ease and low cost with which convincing digital replicas of the performers' voices and appearances can be created. The actors feared this would lead to massive job displacement and the non-consensual use of their labor to train AI models or create digital characters without fair compensation or creative control.

During the strike, specific examples emerged that fueled these concerns, such as an internal Sony demo showing an AI-controlled version of the character Aloy (from Horizon Zero Dawn) having a conversation, or Epic Games' use of an AI-generated Darth Vader voice in the popular game Fortnite.

According to Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, the tentative agreement "establishes necessary AI guardrails that defend performers' livelihoods in the AI ​​era, along with other important benefits." While specific details of the agreement have not been publicly disclosed and are expected to be shared once union members ratify it, this development is seen as a crucial step.

Companies forming part of the industry negotiating group include giants such as Activision Productions Inc., Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Epic Games Inc., Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc.

“Patience and persistence have resulted in an agreement that establishes the necessary AI guardrails that defend artists’ livelihoods in the AI ​​age.” – Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA.

This agreement in the video game industry is significant not only for the actors directly involved, but could also set an important precedent for other creative industries facing similar challenges with AI, such as film, television, music, and advertising. How these "guardrails" are defined will be closely watched by other unions and creators worldwide.

The resolution of this strike underscores that AI is not merely a technological tool, but a fundamental disruptive factor in the labor market, demanding new forms of collective bargaining, updated legal frameworks, and a redefinition of concepts such as "work" and "intellectual property" in the creative field. It highlights the constant tension between rapid technological innovation, driven by companies that see in AI the potential for efficiency and new experiences (such as the CEO of Epic Games, who has predicted a future with non-player characters controlled entirely by AI), and the prevailing need to safeguard the rights, compensation, and artistic integrity of human workers.

The agreement still needs to be approved by the SAG-AFTRA National Board and then ratified by its members. In the meantime, the strike technically remains active until a formal suspension agreement is finalized. It's worth noting that a previous strike by video game actors, between 2016 and 2017, resulted in an improved bonus structure for voice and motion capture actors.