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How Video Games Became the New Battleground for Actors and AI Protections

Megan Farokhmanesh

created: July 10, 2025, 5:13 p.m. | updated: July 13, 2025, 10:45 a.m.

On Wednesday, members of the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, voted to ratify a new contract for video game performers, officially bringing an end to a nearly yearlong strike. Actors in the video game industry had been on strike for 11 months as part of a fight to secure protections against AI, a sticking point that held up negotiations for most of that time. Actors voice characters, help make those characters look more natural by doing motion capture, and even allow companies to use their likenesses. And though AI is impacting industries across the board, including animation, tech, education, and others, the video game industry has begun to feel those effects acutely. As part of the contract, consent and disclosure agreements are now required when any video game maker wants to use a performer’s voice or likeness to make an AI-driven digital replica.

2 weeks, 2 days ago: WIRED