Video gaming’s voice actor strike is ending in slow, small drips

A promotional video produced by SAG-AFTRA in support of the strike.

The video game voice actors in the SAG-AFTRA union have been holding a solid line since they started striking last October, demanding limitations to vocally stressful work sessions and bonus payments for work on top-selling games. But as the strike extends into its eighth month, plenty of games are still getting made with unionized vocal talent. That's because even as the strike as a whole continues, the union has been able to peel off a growing number of developers and publishers willing to agree to new contracts that meet their demands.

Rather than bearing down for an all-or-nothing battle against a monolithic and united video game industry, SAG-AFTRA has taken a more targeted approach, signing individual agreements for specific "non-struck" titles that union members are allowed to work on. As of late May, 36 companies representing 73 games have agreed to the union's new contract.

That move has fragmented any collective bargaining position on the part of the game industry writ large, leading to the odd situation where striking workers can still find work in the sector. In some cases, individual publishers and production companies have agreed to the new contract for some projects while holding out on others, seemingly undermining their own position on a game-by-game basis.

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