SAG-AFTRA is “hopeful” that its voice actor strike will end in the coming days

SAG-AFTRA has announced that it has “reached a tentative agreement with the video game bargaining group” and said that it’s “hopeful that our video game strike will be suspended in the coming days,” though details of the agreement to end the strike still have to be finalized and a member vote needs to be taken to ratify the result.

Members of the guild as well as sympathizing independent voice actors have been withholding their labor from many video game projects since July 2024 in order to put pressure on firms like Activision, Disney, EA, Epic Games, and Insomniac Games to provide VAs with stronger protections against AI, such as having their voices used to train AI without their consent.

Support for the strike, which was strong among the public and VAs at the beginning, crumbled since the start of 2025 with toxicity among VAs rising behind the scenes and in public. Recently, prominent VAs called for an end of the strike and criticized the guild for its lack of transparency in regards to the negotiations and voting processes.

Some recording studios have begun replacing VAs based in the United States with talent from outside for live-service titles such as Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai: Star Rail, which suffered most from the strike. Epic Games, meanwhile, has been testing an AI Darth Vader in Fortnite and wants to roll out tools to players that will allow for the creation of AI-powered NPCs.

Many VAs therefore fear that the strike has been doing more damage to their prospects in the long term than improving them. SAG-AFTRA, of course, is celebrating the tentative agreement as a win.

“Everyone at SAG-AFTRA is immensely grateful for the sacrifices made by video game performers and the dedication of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee throughout these many months of the video game strike,” commented chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “Patience and persistence has resulted in a deal that puts in place the necessary A.I. guardrails that defend performers’ livelihoods in the A.I. age, alongside other important gains.”

The guild’s president, Fran Drescher, added: “Our video game performers stood strong against the biggest employers in one of the world’s most lucrative industries. Their incredible courage and persistence, combined with the tireless work of our negotiating committee, has at last secured a deal. The needle has been moved forward and we are much better off than before.”

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