Actors' union 'not happy' about GTA 6 strike exemption, but confirms it's in the contract: 'Insane, but it's there'

Videogame actors are on strike: The approximately 160,000-member SAG-AFTRA union says that major game makers have refused to include sufficient protections against generative AI in their contracts. The game makers disagree, and for now, the parties are at an impasse.

The strike means that union actors will not work on new games in production at a number of major studios until they can agree on a new contract. Take-Two Interactive, parent company of Rockstar, is one of the game makers being struck, but Grand Theft Auto 6—by far the most anticipated upcoming game, and one we expect to contain gigs worth of dialogue—may not be slowed down as a result. 

GTA 6 and many other games are exempt from the strike, because it doesn't affect games that started production over a year ago, according to statements from the union and the game makers, which were acquired by Kotaku.

In an FAQ, SAG-AFTRA explains that "some companies have games that cannot be struck due to certain contract terms" and so "it is easier to think about the strike in terms of struck games as opposed to struck companies."

In a report on Aftermath, SAG-AFTRA chief contracts officer Ray Rodriguez said that the union is "obviously not happy about" the GTA 6 exemption, but affirmed that the rule about already in-development games exists, saying it was "bargained into" a legacy agreement created before the SAG and AFTRA unions merged. 

"It's language that the merged union basically inherited, that I think is insane," said Rodriguez. "But it's there."

The union's FAQ notes, however, that "although members will not be disciplined for working these games, they may still choose to stand in solidarity with their fellow members by refusing to cross a picket line for these games, and their employer is contractually prohibited from discriminating against them for this choice."

In other words, actors who are invited to work on games that aren't struck, but come from companies that are—GTA 6 would qualify—may choose to turn the offers down. That could include actors who previously did work for the games under daily contracts and are being asked to sign new ones.

The goal of the strike is to formalize "fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the AI use of [actor's] faces, voices, and bodies," said SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland in a statement this week. The game makers claim they've already offered protections that are "among the strongest in the entertainment industry," but in the Aftermath report, Rodriguez explains that the union is unsatisfied with the specific protections being offered to motion-capture performers.

GTA 6 is scheduled to release in the fall of 2025, although no PC version has been announced—that might take another year or more, knowing Rockstar.