Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
This week, SAG-AFTRA announced a strike against performances in video games in an effort to pressure developers and publishers into agreeing to protections against abusive use of AI to replace voice actors and motion capture performers. In the months ahead, this could make game development difficult for any game that uses voice work and motion capture, but there are addendums that protect some games that started development before the strike. One of them is Grand Theft Auto, of which SAG-AFTRA has said its current contracts will be honored.
This addendum was first reported by Ethan Gach of Kotaku, who discovered a disclaimer from SAG-AFTRA for games like Grand Theft Auto 6:
The SAG-AFTRA strike was announced earlier this week after negotiations with game developers and publishers did not produce the results the guild was looking for in regards to use of artificial intelligence. SAG-AFTRA believes that major game producers have failed to establish reasonable protections against abusive use of AI that might be used to replicate a performer’s voice or motion capture work and eventually replace them altogether. It’s also worth noting that while this strike is fresh, it continues from a strike that ran through major parts of 2023 and eventually led to the negotiation table at the start of this year.
It remains to be seen what it will take for SAG-AFTRA and video game publishers to find middle ground, but at the very least, projects like Grand Theft Auto 6 are still on track for now. With a Fall 2025 release window currently set for the game, stay tuned as we watch for further updates here at Shacknews.