SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. With 160,000 members, SAG-AFTRA works to secure the strongest protections for media artists into the 21st century and beyond. This includes enforceable provisions for performers around the use of A.I., retaining the right of actors to approve or deny how their digital likenesses and voices are used.
Now, SAG-AFTRA is fighting to protect video game performers – preserving the human ingenuity and creativity that fuel interactive storytelling. During this campaign, SAG-AFTRA has sought to:
A.I. has the ability to impact society broadly, including the foundational rights of workers. As companies and lawmakers determine how to regulate new technologies, SAG-AFTRA has been at the forefront of the push for legislation that protects performers – and all individuals – from non-consensual replication of their voice and likeness.
SAG-AFTRA isn’t afraid of new tech and ways of doing things; these tools must be used to explore new frontiers of human creativity, not sideline people in favor of a “good-enough” algorithm that regurgitates remixes of actual creative works.
The union’s goal is for human creativity to be catalyzed by every tool available, not a hollow world where bots and algorithms generate culture, and humans are an afterthought.
SAG-AFTRA’s Video Game Strike began on July 26, 2024, after more than 18 months of negotiations with some of the largest video game companies. The video game companies rebuffed SAG-AFTRA’s proposals for consent, compensation and transparency around the use of A.I. for all performers covered under the contract, and instead countered with loophole-filled language that negated the protections they claimed to offer.
Immediately, the SAG-AFTRA marketing and communications teams prepared an integrated campaign to educate key audiences about the lack of protections for performers against the misuse of A.I., to galvanize the public in support of video game performers and union members, and to put pressure on video game companies to agree to contract terms that ensure A.I. won’t be used to unfairly exploit performers.
Understanding the gaps in knowledge around A.I. and its potential impact on video game actors, SAG-AFTRA launched an integrated, digital-first marketing campaign in support of the strike. This included a robust social media education campaign on SAG-AFTRA’s channels, leveraging the social platforms of external validators and influential messengers by recruiting and activating them to amplify SAG-AFTRA’s messages, and ultimately generating increased visibility in online media for the strike. SAG-AFTRA created a suite of content and materials, including social toolkits for both union members and external validators, and also developed and pushed out an online petition to rally the public in support of video game performers. The campaign also organized high-visibility media events to generate widespread online traction designed to reach important audiences – including union members, video game consumers and companies.
Additionally, SAG-AFTRA deployed video game performers who work the Interactive Media Agreement to conferences and trade shows to explain the issues from their perspective.
The union’s campaign began with simultaneous media blitzes showcasing union leadership and members across trade, national, local and broadcast media, including The Associated Press, The Los Angeles Times and IGN. SAG-AFTRA consistently reached out to local reporters, providing updates and quotes as details of the strike unfolded.
Through interviews with performers, SAG-AFTRA made members the face of the campaign, so that the public could connect with them and see the real people whose livelihoods are at stake. SAG-AFTRA also provided information and resources for fans and other creators, which gave them the tools they needed to add their support to the campaign.
SAG-AFTRA held pickets outside game studios in Los Angeles, which the union promoted on its social channels and publications. With cohesive branding and signage — and creative, passionate performers on the lines — these pickets gained national attention on social media and were featured by nearly every local broadcast station, including FOX11 and ABC7.
While an agreement has yet to be reached with the largest game companies, SAG-AFTRA’s strategy, which combines thought leadership with effective negotiation and coalition-building, has led to the signing of interim or independent agreements with employers for over 120 video games, reinforcing the union’s commitment to securing critical protections for its performers. These contracts contain the provisions we’ve been asking the big companies for.
During the strike, the union has educated audiences, shaped the narrative and mobilized support:
Galvanizing Union Leaders: More than two dozen U.S. and international unions have issued statements of support for SAG-AFTRA’s strike, signifying the importance of the protections SAG-AFTRA is working to secure. The support for SAG-AFTRA’s terms sends a clear message that these provisions are not just a union priority, but an industrywide imperative.