A protracted 11-month strike by video game performers is poised to conclude this week, with union members voting on a tentative agreement that promises pay rises, control over their likenesses, and vital artificial intelligence protections.
Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pacific to ratify the deal. Voice and body performers had raised significant concerns that unregulated AI use could displace them and threaten their artistic autonomy. Sarah Elmaleh, a voice actor and chair of SAG-AFTRA's interactive branch negotiating committee, described the feeling as "like diamond amounts of pressure suddenly lifted." She added that while it is "obviously far from resolved," the prospect of concluding the dispute "feels like a lightening and a relief."
