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

LOS ANGELES -- Results from a union member vote on a tentative contract between video game performers and their employers are expected Wednesday evening.

If ratified, the contract would formally end a nearly three-year-long effort from Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists negotiators to obtain a new contract for video game performers. The process, which included an 11-month strike against several major game makers, hinged on how artificial intelligence would affect performers in the industry.

If approved, the agreement will deliver pay raises, control over performers' likenesses and artificial intelligence protections. The contract was first reached in early June between the union and an industry bargaining group consisting of several major video game companies, including divisions of Activision and Electronic Arts. The nearly year-long strike was suspended on June 11 and about 3,000 SAG-AFTRA members covered by the interactive media agreement have had since June 18 to vote.

Results will be announced soon after the vote ends at 5 p.m. Pacific.

The 11-month strike “was a grueling and excruciating process, ” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator said before the voting period closed.

“I hope and I believe that our members, when they look back on this, will say all of the sacrifices and difficulty we put ourselves through to achieve this agreement will ultimately be worth it because we do have the key elements that we need to feel confident and moving forward in this business,” Crabtree-Ireland said.

The new contract secures “industry-leading” AI protections, said Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game producers involved in the deal. The proposed contract delineates clear restrictions on when and how video game companies can create digital replicas, which use AI to generate new performances that weren’t recorded by an actor.

Employers must obtain written permission from a performer to create a digital replica — consent which must be granted during the performer’s lifetime and is valid after death unless otherwise limited, the contract states.

The time spent creating a digital replica will be compensated as work time, according to the agreement. The agreement also requires the employer to provide the performer with a usage report that details how the replica was used and calculates the expected compensation.

The contract also secured an increase in performer compensation of just over 15% upon ratification and an additional 3% increase each year of the three-year contract.

Increasing awareness and knowledge about the new AI provisions among union membership is crucial moving forward if the contract is ratified, Sarah Elmaleh, a voice actor and chair of the union’s interactive branch negotiating committee, told The Associated Press before the voting period closed.

“Actually applying these guardrails in our work is going to take members paying attention, understanding what they should look out for, being engaged with their union and reporting things that look fishy or that are actually violations,” she said.