Tencent’s Lightspeed L.A. Signs SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement, First Studio To Agree On A.I. Protections Actors Are Striking Over

It’s been a little more than a month since video game actors under SAG-AFTRA officially went on strike, with the one sticking point between the union and game studios being the details surrounded protections against AI.

When the strike was announced, SAG-AFTRA also published two interim agreements, one for most studios and then a second one for smaller indie teams. These agreements included the kinds of AI protections that actors want, and any company who signs this agreement is then free to hire union actors.

It looks like we have our first major company to sign the agreement, as Tencent–owned Lightspeed L.A. has officially signed the agreement, SAG-AFTRA announces.

General manager of Lightspeed L.A. Steve Martin said on the announcement “Lightspeed L.A. has always recognized and valued the irreplaceable role of talent, which injects creativity, innovation, and the human touch into video games. Supporting our cast is the right thing to do and there was never any hesitation to consider the performer protections that anchor this agreement.”

“We want to thank Duncan Crabtree-Ireland and everyone at SAG-AFTRA for their openness and collaboration to help deliver this agreement. On behalf of the Lightspeed L.A. team, we cannot wait to share the amazing world and narrative gameplay experience we are crafting with the help of our outstanding cast.”

For SAG-AFTRA’s part, negotiating chief and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said “I am delighted to be partnering with Lightspeed L.A. Their upcoming game may be set in a world of technology run amok, but by agreeing to equitable terms, they’re working to make sure that the real future will not be a dystopian one for performers.”

Hopefully more companies either sign the interim agreement, so that work on coming games doesn’t get delayed by the strike. But what we should hope for even more is just that game companies and SAG-AFTRA are able to properly agree on AI protections that don’t put the livelihoods of performers at risk down the line.

Source – [SAG-AFTRA]