The American Video Game Actors Guild Approves Possible Strike

The American Video Game Actors Guild has called for a wage increase and improved working conditions, approving a possible strike. The guild's previous contract with video game developers expired last November and was extended monthly and temporarily during negotiations. More than 34,000 members of this guild, about 27% of its members, voted on Monday to approve a possible strike if negotiations fail and a long-term agreement with game developers is not reached. The video game actors guild is a subset of the American Actors Guild known as 'SAG-AFTRA,' which has been on strike since last July. The SAG-AFTRA strike followed a strike by the American Writers Guild that shut down nearly all Hollywood productions for weeks. According to the video game actors guild, despite rising living costs, artists' wages in this sector have not changed in the past five years. According to available statistics, the video game production industry generated over $180 billion in revenue in 2021, and this figure is expected to rise to nearly $219 billion by 2024. In addition to actors, workers in other sectors of this industry are also seriously demanding improved working conditions by forming unions in the U.S. Video game actors, who primarily work as voice actors for characters in these games, are calling for wage increases, job security, restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence, and other issues not addressed in the previous contract. Sheila Omi, an Iranian artist living in Los Angeles, previously told Voice of America: 'Due to the significant development of artificial intelligence in recent years, this technology has advanced so much in mimicking voices and images that it can use our works as actors or voice actors to put us out of work.' She adds, 'If we don't do something about this, we will find ourselves competing with our digital counterparts, and our livelihoods will be at risk.' According to this Iranian artist, such a situation is currently happening in voice acting, and a significant number of voice actors working on animated films, series, commercials, or video games are gradually losing their jobs. Ms. Omi points out that artificial intelligence has replaced voice actors, stating that voices created by this technology not only sound very realistic but have also stolen the vocal characteristics and traits of some of the best voice actors in the industry. This report includes information from Reuters.