Negotiations over AI are still holding up video game development – Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale explains why

On 26th July 2024, performers from the US actors union SAG-AFTRA began a strike after failing to reach a deal with major video game companies over the use of AI. Negotiations had been ongoing for more than a year and a half; now, six months later, the strike continues, delaying game production and leaving actors out of work.

While actors from the union have negotiated on various critical issues, including wages in-line with inflation and job safety, the exploitative use of AI and the use of actors’ voices without consent remains the major sticking point. And while an interim Interactive Media Agreement between SAG-AFTRA and the games industry is currently in place to allow some production to continue (and provide acting work), a full resolution is yet to be found.

So why are negotiations taking so long? Celebrated voice actor Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect, Bayonetta 3) tells Eurogamer she’s not surprised: “AI is an existential issue for all of us”.

“It’s a huge issue for all of us and the repercussions are vast,” she says. “So to me, it makes sense that everyone needs to take their time. As performers – and we saw this in the writers strike and the theatrical contract strike – we’re just the canary in the coal mine.