SAG-AFTRA members have brought an end to the video game acting strike, after overwhelmingly approving the 2025 Interactive Media Agreement, bringing an end to the action which began in July of last year.
As per SAG-AFTRA's official site, 95% of members agreed upon this deal, which provides compounded increases in performer compensation, increased overtime rate maximum for overscale performers, and increased health & retirement contribution rates to the AFTRA Retirement Fund. Also, performer safety guardrails and gains around AI have been established, including the need for consent and disclosure requirements for digital replica usage.
Last month, the terms of this deal were ironed out in a tentative agreement, in which it appeared that the SAG-AFTRA strike would come to an end.
"I commend the strong leadership of Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Chair Sarah Elmaleh, who remained steadfast through three years of hard bargaining while facing many challenging headwinds during a challenging negotiation cycle," said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher. "This deal achieves important progress around AI protections, and progress is the name of the game! My sincere respect goes out to the entire video game performer community and their allies for their solidarity during the strike which provided the necessary leverage to secure this deal's many essential gains."
While this might not totally end actor concerns as AI creeps into the gaming industry, it at least may offer some protection against the wanton use of the new tech.