Video Game Voice Actors' Strike Ends as Agreement with Publishers Was Reached
Voice actors and video game publishers have made progress towards an agreement, enough to end a strike against 11 video game companies that have been ongoing since October of last year.
Video game fans can sigh in relief as more of their highly anticipated upcoming games can now move forward with their favorite voice actors in tow. A new announcement from the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the labor union in the United States that represents more than 160,000 actors in TV, radio and games, broke up the strike on Monday, Sep. 25.
"You are free to resume working for the companies that were struck on all titles effective immediately," the SAG-AFTRA informed its striking members two days ago, as they shared in a news update.
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The boycott, which started since Oct. 21 2016, followed a breakdown of negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and several video game companies, including big publishers like EA, Activision, Disney Character Voices, Warner Bros. Interactive and Take-Two Interactive, according to Polygon.
It will be 11 months before a "tentative agreement" could be reached with the video game companies on Saturday, Sep. 23. This news marks the end of the longest strike ever done in Screen Actors Guild history, ever since it was founded in 1933.
One of the tougher agendas on the negotiation table is still the issue of residuals, secondary compensation similar to royalty payments for voice actors for pivotal performances in blockbuster games.
Rockstar, for example, forked over just $100,000 for the voice work of Michael Hollick for the iconic protagonist Niko Bellic in "Grand Theft Auto 4," which went on to sell more than 25 million units worldwide. Hollick worked about 15 months for his samples, which the studio used for everything from TV spots to online ads.
The agreement is still a work in progress, but it's a start, according to Gabrielle Carteris, union president. "We secured a number of gains including for the first time, a secondary payment structure which was one of the members' key concerns," she noted.
