THE gaming industry has been under a lot of pressure from voice actors asking for fairer wages, and safety measures against their work being used for AI.
Voice actors’ biggest union, SAG-AFTRA, recently announced that its members would be striking against 10 of gaming’s biggest companies.
Among the struck companies is Take Two Interactive which publishes the Grand Theft Auto series, and EA known for sports games and the Dragon Age series.
Gamers were initially concerned by the effect the strike would have on upcoming games, but the union revealed that it wouldn’t affect games that have been in development since 2023 and earlier.
This means that games like GTA 6, which have been in development for a number of years, will not be affected.
Other companies have been asked about their line up of games and whether the SAG-AFTRA strikes will have an effect on release dates.
Investors recently asked CEO Andrew Wilson whether the strike would have an effect on the company and its upcoming games.
Wilson said: “We deeply value our talented actors who are an important part of the work we do to deliver the incredible entertainment experiences that our players enjoy around the world.
“We’re working very closely; this is not an EA-specific situation, this is an industry-specific situation, and we’re working diligently to negotiate at the table.
“The way it works now in terms of our product specifically is that the strike is limited to games commencing production after September 2023, including live service games.
“So we don’t expect any near-term disruption to any of the games we have in development or any of the live services we’re currently running.
“That being said, we’re committed to continuing to bargain in good faith and are hopeful that the parties can expediently resolve our issues at the bargaining table.
“But we’re not anticipating any significant short-term impact at EA.”
The key phrase here is short-term, as any project started after September 2023 will be impacted by the strike.
While games like Dragon Age: The Veilguard are well underway, EA releases its sports games on a yearly cycle.
Strike action will likely not affect the 10 companies in 2024 and possibly 2025, but beyond that, delays are expected.
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