Latest news with #DuncanCrabtreeIreland
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
Video game voice actors have been on strike for nearly a year. They finally have deal
Video game voice actors and motion capture artists could be headed back to work soon. SAG-AFTRA and major video game companies have announced a tentative contract agreement, 11 months after union members began a work stoppage. Artificial intelligence was at the heart of the dispute. 'Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary A.I. guardrails that defend performers' livelihoods in the A.I. age, alongside other important gains,' said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for the union in a statement. Terms of the agreement were not immediately released. SAG-AFTRA said it would offer details with ratification materials to members. While a tentative deal is in place, members will continue to strike the major video game companies until the final terms are agreed upon, the union said. SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher seemed to stop short of declaring victory, saying 'The needle has been moved forward and we are much better off than before,' but later added planning would begin for the next negotiation immediately saying 'every contract is a work in progress.' Voice and performance artists have been on strike since July 2024 against Activision Productions, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, WB Games, Take 2 Productions, Blindlight, and Formosa Interactive. The strike followed 18 months of negotiations. Generative AI was at the heart of the dispute, as the union maintained there were no contractual provisions that prevented game companies from training AI to reproduce an actor's voice or likeness without informed consent. (Game publishers countered that their AI proposal contained strong protections for performers, requiring prior consent and fair pay when duplicating their performances.) The union worked out side-deals with over 130 game developers early in the strike, which let work continue on many titles. Industry analysts say the settlement is a good development for the industry, noting that many games are increasing the use of live actors in development (such as Norman Reedus taking a lead role in Death Stranding and the growing number of celebrities who appear in Fortnite. 'I think these artists are essential and were relatively unappreciated until executive producers saw how much worse AI solutions were,' says Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities. 'There is a tendency for Hollywood to get this and for video game developers to assume they can replace anyone with software, but it's clear from the settlement that the game publishers agreed that these actors are essential.' The strike over AI protections was the second SAG-AFTRA work-stoppage the video game industry has faced in the past decade. In 2016-2017, voice actors and publishers battled over the issue of residual payments. That strike lasted for 340 days, resulting in a three-year contract, though many voice actors complained the agreement was toothless and the union had ceded too much ground. The agreement called for 'bonus pay' based on the number of sessions a performer worked on each game, but did not follow the traditional residual model. The tentative agreement over AI demands comes just over a month after video game companies gave their ' best and last' offer to SAG-AFTRA. The two parties began negotiating on a new agreement in October 2022.
The Verge
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Verge
The video game actors' strike may be over soon
American Screen Actors Guild members have reached a 'tentative' contract agreement with major gaming companies that could potentially end the 11-month-long video game actors' strike. SAG-AFTRA announced the tentative contract on Monday without specifying terms or protections for performers. The strike began on July 26th, 2024, after the union and a bargaining committee of video game companies — including Activision, Epic Games, EA, Disney Character Voices, Take-Two, Insomniac Games, WB Games, and others — failed to agree on worker protections around AI. 'It is expected the terms of a strike suspension agreement will be finalized with employers soon,' SAG-AFTRA announced. 'Until such agreement is reached, however, SAG-AFTRA members will remain on strike against these employers.' The contract is subject to approval by the SAG-AFTRA national board and is expected to be put to a ratification vote with union members 'in the coming weeks.' If all goes well, the lengthy list of restrictions preventing SAG-AFTRA's approximately 160,000 members from undertaking video game projects will be lifted, alleviating some development headaches for new titles. 'Everyone at SAG-AFTRA is immensely grateful for the sacrifices made by video game performers and the dedication of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee throughout these many months of the video game strike,' SAG-AFTRA's Chief Negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, said in the announcement. 'Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary AI guardrails that defend performers' livelihoods in the AI age, alongside other important gains.'
CBC
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Video game actors, companies reach tentative deal to end nearly year-long strike over AI
The union for Hollywood's video game performers has reached a tentative contract with several video game companies, which may bring an end to an almost year-long strike tied to the use of artificial intelligence. Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike in July 2024 after negotiations with game industry giants came to a halt over AI protections. SAG-AFTRA said that the unregulated use of AI posed "an equal or even greater threat" to performers in the video game industry than it does in film and television, because the capacity to cheaply and easily create convincing digital replicas of performers' voices is widely available. The performers were worried that unchecked use of AI could provide game makers with a means to displace them — by training an AI to replicate an actor's voice, or to create a digital replica of their likeness without consent. "Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary AI guardrails that defend performers' livelihoods in the AI age, alongside other important gains," SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement. The union had been negotiating with an industry bargaining group consisting of signatory video game companies, including divisions of Activision and Electronic Arts. Those companies include Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Epic Games Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc. and WB Games Inc. The union said that it anticipates that the terms of a strike suspension agreement will be finalized with the companies soon. Union members will remain on strike until such an agreement is reached. The tentative contract deal still needs approval by the National Board and ratification by union membership. Video game performers had previously gone on strike in October 2016, with a tentative deal reached 11 months later, in September 2017. That strike helped secure a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Video game performers on strike for almost a year over AI issues reach a tentative deal
The union for Hollywood's video game performers has reached a tentative contract with several video game companies that may bring an end to an almost year-long strike tied to the use of artificial intelligence. Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike in July 2024 after negotiations with game industry giants came to a halt over artificial intelligence protections. SAG-AFTRA said that the unregulated use of AI posed 'an equal or even greater threat' to performers in the video game industry than it does in film and television because the capacity to cheaply and easily create convincing digital replicas of performers' voices is widely available. The performers were worried that unchecked use of AI could provide game makers with a means to displace them — by training an AI to replicate an actor's voice, or to create a digital replica of their likeness without consent. 'Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary AI guardrails that defend performers' livelihoods in the AI age, alongside other important gains,' SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement. The union had been negotiating with an industry bargaining group consisting of signatory video game companies, including divisions of Activision and Electronic Arts. Those companies include Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Epic Games Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc. SAG-AFTRA said that it anticipates that the terms of a strike suspension agreement will be finalized with the companies soon. Union members will remain on strike until such an agreement is reached. The tentative contract deal still needs approval by the National Board and ratification by union membership. Video game performers had previously gone on strike in October 2016, with a tentative deal reached 11 months later, in September 2017. That strike helped secure a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Video game performers on strike for almost a year over AI issues reach a tentative deal
The union for Hollywood's video game performers has reached a tentative contract with several video game companies that may bring an end to an almost year-long strike tied to the use of artificial intelligence. Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists went on strike in July 2024 after negotiations with game industry giants came to a halt over artificial intelligence protections. SAG-AFTRA said that the unregulated use of AI posed 'an equal or even greater threat' to performers in the video game industry than it does in film and television because the capacity to cheaply and easily create convincing digital replicas of performers' voices is widely available. The performers were worried that unchecked use of AI could provide game makers with a means to displace them — by training an AI to replicate an actor's voice, or to create a digital replica of their likeness without consent. 'Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary AI guardrails that defend performers' livelihoods in the AI age, alongside other important gains,' SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement. The union had been negotiating with an industry bargaining group consisting of signatory video game companies, including divisions of Activision and Electronic Arts. Those companies include Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Epic Games Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Take 2 Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc. SAG-AFTRA said that it anticipates that the terms of a strike suspension agreement will be finalized with the companies soon. Union members will remain on strike until such an agreement is reached. The tentative contract deal still needs approval by the National Board and ratification by union membership. Video game performers had previously gone on strike in October 2016, with a tentative deal reached 11 months later, in September 2017. That strike helped secure a bonus compensation structure for voice actors and performance capture artists.
