After nearly a year of striking, SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative agreement with major video game companies, potentially ending a lengthy battle over the use of artificial intelligence in games. The deal, still pending approval from the union’s national board and a member vote, includes new protections to prevent the unauthorized use of actors’ voices and likenesses by AI.

“Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary AI guardrails that defend performers’ livelihoods in the AI age, alongside other important gains,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.

The strike, which began in July 2024, centered on growing concerns that AI tools could be used to replicate or alter the work of performers without consent or compensation. Actors raised alarms about AI-generated characters, including an AI-voiced Darth Vader in Fortnite, which led SAG-AFTRA to file an unfair labor practice charge against Epic Games with the National Labor Relations Board.

Ashly Burch, the voice of Aloy in the Horizon series, also spoke out after an AI-controlled Aloy tech demo leaked online, calling the situation worrying for the future of performance in games.

“What we’re fighting for is, you have to get our consent before you make an AI version of us in any form, you have to compensate us fairly, and you have to tell us how you’re using this AI double,” Burch said.

The union’s negotiations were with a group of ten major game companies, including Activision Productions, Electronic Arts Productions, Disney Character Voices, Epic Games, Take 2 Productions, Insomniac Games, WB Games, Blindlight, Formosa Interactive, and others.

As the strike continued, some players noticed missing voice work in games like Destiny 2 and World of Warcraft, while companies recast characters in titles such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Riot Games’ League of Legends also faced backlash after a canceled project led to accusations of undermining the strike.

SAG-AFTRA’s national board must now approve the tentative agreement before members vote on final ratification. Until then, union members will remain on strike.

“Our video game performers stood strong against the biggest employers in one of the world’s most lucrative industries,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “Their incredible courage and persistence has at last secured a deal. The needle has been moved forward, and we are much better off than before.”