SAG-AFTRA Announces Deal With AI Firm And Video Game Voice Actors Are Confused

One of the big concerns that has been driving strikes in the creative industry over the past year is AI and how corporations intend to use it. This holds just as true for the video game voice actors represented by SAG-AFTRA as it does for screen actors and writers. It was one of the reasons that video game voice actors approved a potential strike back in November – even though the strike itself did not happen.

Now, SAG has announced a deal with AI firm Replica Studios that, according to the organization, will allow Replica to work with SAG members “under a fair, ethical agreement to safely create and license a digital replica of their voice”. These replicas will be usable in video game development and “other interactive media projects” over the course of production until the game is released. Like the deal made for the screen actors, this one apparently includes minimums and requires consent from the actor in question.

The deal isn’t being received in quite the way SAG might have hoped, however. While the organization stated that the deal was approved by those who would be affected, many voice actors are asking who those people are, as they were not consulted.

According to Video Games Chronicle, voice actors such as Apex Legends’ Erika Ishii, Starfield’s Elias Toufexis, and Super Smash Bros’ Xander Mobus have all posted on social media noting that they certainly weren’t asked and that they didn’t know a vote was being taken on the issue. (Although it seems that there may not have been an actual vote to know about.)

Even a brief look at the replies to SAG-AFTRA's official X (Formerly Twitter) post shows that this isn't exactly the deal actors were looking for and that many aren't sure who was actually consulted for this deal to be approved.

On another AI note, Valve is taking its own steps in regard to AI on Steam, according to a post on the Steam community blog, the company is making changes to how they deal with games that use AI. This begins with requiring developers to disclose AI and how they are using it when submitting a game to Steam. The survey breaks AI into two categories, pre-generated and live-generated. The former refers to using AI tools while developing the game, the latter indicates using AI to create content while the game is live. In the case of live-generated content, the developer will need to also include information on how they’re ensuring that the AI isn’t generating illegal content.

In addition, Valve is implementing a system that will allow Steam users to report illegal content inside games that use live-generated content.