Video game actors are voting on a new contract. Here’s what it means for AI in gaming
LOS ANGELES, JUL 09 – The contract includes over 15% pay raises and sets clear limits on AI use, requiring performer consent for digital replicas to protect artistic autonomy, union leaders said.
- Members of SAG-AFTRA vote by Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific on a deal that includes pay raises, likeness control, and AI protections, ending an 11-month strike.
- Following last July’s strike, performers feared unregulated AI could displace them and threaten their autonomy, stemming from nearly two years of stalled negotiations.
- The tentative contract restricts AI-created digital replicas, requires performers’ written consent during lifetime and after death, mandates compensation for replica creation, and offers a 15% pay increase with annual raises.
- If ratified, over 160 games will continue work under interim agreements with AI protections, delivering pay raises and likeness control for performers.
- More broadly, the $187 billion global video game industry faces a potential inflection point as AI regulations are negotiated amid ongoing debates over digital likeness protections.
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54 Articles


The results of the vote on a tentative contract between video game performers and their employers could arrive as early as Wednesday night. If ratified, the contract would formally end a nearly three-year effort by Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) negotiators to obtain it. The process, which included an 11-month strike against major video game manufacturers, hinged on how artificial intelligence…

Video game performers vote on contract that could end nearly three-year-long battle over AI
Union members have until July 9 at 5 p.m. Pacific to vote on a tentative contract between video game performers and their employers.
Video game actors voting on new contract. Here’s what it means for AI in gaming
An 11-month strike by video game performers could formally end this week if members ratify a deal that delivers pay raises, control over their likenesses and artificial intelligence protections. The agreement feels “like diamond amounts of pressure suddenly lifted,” said Sarah Elmaleh, a voice actor and chair of the Screen…
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