Voice actors set a strike date against several video game studios

After a series of negotiations, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) have set a strike date of October 21 against several video games companies.

Not all games companies will be affected when the strike comes into play at 00:01 on October 21. The companies listed are: Activision Publishing, Blindlight, Corps of Discovery Films, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Interactive Associates, Take-Two Interactive, VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games.

You can see the post announced the strike on the SAG-AFTRA website, in the post they said: ”Despite years of concerted effort and negotiating sessions, video game employers have steadfastly refused to reach a fair deal during our contract negotiations.”

The strike could still be averted before it goes ahead on Friday. The group are returning to the negotiation table from October 17-19, aiming to create "a fair contract that is rooted in industry standards and best practices." said the group. Negotiations seem to be centring on topics such as residual payments based on profit sharing, and a series of proposed health allowances, such as limiting vocally intensive sessions to a maximum length of two hours to prevent damage to the actor’s voice.

Barnes & Thornburg, a law firm representing the collection of companies, issues a statement: ”We have negotiated in good faith for the past 18 months with SAG-AFTRA union leaders, and are making progress toward a new contract. We are deeply disappointed to learn today of the union’s threatened strike and its unilateral violation of the mutually agreed upon ‘news black-out’ on negotiation discussions.”