Video game actors represented by SAG-AFTRA have ratified a new agreement, ensuring higher wages, safeguards against artificial intelligence, and additional benefits for their work.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has ratified a new agreement for video game actors, ending an 11-month strike that began in July 2024. The landmark deal includes significant protections for performers regarding the use of their digital likenesses and voice replicas in AI-generated materials.
The main reason for the strike was the threat of AI, with companies initially unwilling to meet terms surrounding using AI replicas. The agreement includes informed consent, disclosure requirements, and the right for actors to suspend their consent for generating new AI materials. Producers must provide a "reasonably specific description" of how they intend to use the AI replicas or digital likenesses, ensuring actors are fully aware of the scope and purpose of the AI use.
Ashly Burch, the performance actress for Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West, expressed concerns about the potential use of her performance in AI replicas. These concerns were addressed in the agreement, which includes increased protections surrounding AI. Guerrilla Games, the lead studio behind the Horizon titles, assured Burch that her performance wasn't used in training the AI model and that the experiment didn't reflect anything currently in development at the studio.
Sony-owned PlayStation explored the use of AI in games, with an experiment in 2025 using LLMs to power a model for the Horizon Forbidden West protagonist Aloy. The new agreement provides video game performers with a 15.17% increase in compensation, with further 3% increases set for 2026 and 2027. Companies like Activision, Electronic Arts, Insomniac Games, and others were involved in the negotiations that led to the strike.
The agreement represents increased safeguards compared to prior agreements, reflecting the union's focus on performer safety and control over their digital identity in interactive media. These foundational guardrails around AI use are expected to set a precedent for future negotiations in the gaming industry.
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Microsoft, a key player in the gaming industry with its Xbox platform, will likely adhere to the new safeguards set by the agreement, ensuring performers' digital likenesses and voice replicas are used responsibly in AI-generated materials. As companies like Activision, Electronic Arts, and Insomniac Games, as well as Sony-owned PlayStation, are expected to follow these foundational guardrails, it's probable that technology giants like Microsoft will also embrace this entertainment-focused approach to AI use in their gaming products. Keep updated on the emerging trends in AI gaming on our newsletter, including insights into how Windows and Xbox gaming may be impacted by these changes.
