SAG-AFTRA, Video Game Producers End Contract Talks; Sides Vow to Make ‘Final Efforts to Reach a Deal’

SAG-AFTRA has ended its scheduled negotiations with video game producers for a new Interactive Media contract without reaching an agreement.

The union has a strike authorization vote in its back pocket, but a joint statement from SAG-AFTRA and the game producers issued late Thursday signaled the sides are still hoping to avoid a second major work stoppage. SAG-AFTRA has been on strike against Hollywood’s largest employers in TV and film since July 14.

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“SAG-AFTRA and video game employers concluded scheduled negotiations for the Interactive Media Agreement. No deal was reached and the current agreement will remain in effect while the parties make final efforts to reach a deal,” the joint statement read.

The union has been in on-again, off-again negotiations with video game giants since October 2022. The companies involved in the talks include Activision, Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Epic Games, Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc.

Earlier this month, SAG-AFTRA members voted overwhelmingly — 98.32% — in favor of a strike authorization against 10 major video game companies. The results unveiled Sept. 25 found that 34,687 members cast ballots, representing 27.47% of eligible voters.

SAG-AFTRA is in the midst of its first industry-wide film and TV strike in more than 40 years. The union is set to resume contract talks on Monday with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for the first time since negotiations broke down on the night of July 12.

Amid a national surge of labor union activism, the Writers Guild of America went on strike May 2 and just concluded a tentative agreement with AMPTP on Sept. 24. Industry hopes are high that the resolution of the WGA’s contract can help pave the way for SAG-AFTRA to get to the finish line when talks resume next week.

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