In exchange, the companies had offered a fixed increase in rates and a sliding-scale upfront bonus for multiple recording sessions, which the union had rejected.
Due to the commonly long development period for video games, the strike's impact on the industry was initially expected to be felt for years.
[3] As early as the 1990s, these unions had developed Interactive Media Agreements with the video game industry to set standard rates for a typical four-hour recording session;[4] in 2005, this was about $759,[5] increasing to about $800–825 in 2013.
[9][10] Michael Hollick stated that he had only been paid about $100,000 for voicing Niko Bellic, the main character of Grand Theft Auto IV (2008), which earned than $600 million within its first three weeks of release.
[13] The union was also concerned for actors involved in "vocally stressful" roles, and sought to have similar restrictions on session time and foreknowledge that one would give for stunt acting.
[11] Around June 2016, SAG-AFTRA sent a letter co-signed by several of its members to the California division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requesting them to investigate health and safety issues related to the "vocally stressful" roles, citing several members who had developed vocal cord damage while recording screams and shouts for video games.
The union specifically asked the division to evaluate these injuries resulting "voice acting in video games due to employers pushing too hard or not providing adequate safety measures".
[15] A third point of negotiation arose from transparency aspects for voice actor roles, an element that comes from the industry's background in the technology sector.
[15] By September 2015, SAG-AFTRA considered the negotiations to not go well, finding the industry's demands untenable, and proceeded to have its members vote for a strike authorization.
[11] Union members agreed to authorize a strike by a 96% margin in October 2015, giving the SAG-AFTRA negotiators a bargaining chip to use during further discussions with the industry.
[22][23][24][25] Voice actors that have spoken in favor of the union and the strike include Jennifer Hale, David Hayter, Elias Toufexis, Phil LaMarr and Wil Wheaton.
[20] More than 500 people participated in a rally march from the SAG-AFTRA headquarters to a park near the La Brea Tar Pits to support the strike.
[29] In response to the strike, the affected companies launched a website to inform the SAG-AFTRA members and the public what the state of negotiations were to demonstrate that they were trying to bargain but had been refused by the union.
On this site, the companies stated that their proposed payments would be an upfront system and guaranteed regardless of how well a video game sold, making it a better deal for actors.
They also noted that they had agreed to terms to split "vocally stressful" sessions from four-hour blocks into two two-hour ones, as long as actors could complete both within a week, but this proposal was rejected by the union.
[22] Union attorneys demanded the public relations firm Singer Associates, which set up the website on behalf of the game companies, to stop using their trademarks, citing potential confusion.
[31] By the end of 2016, it was unclear how much of an effect the strike had on the video game industry, as none of the companies struck had reported delays of upcoming titles due to the lack of voice actors.
[39] Other members of SAG-AFTRA, and other entertainment workers' unions, looked to the voice actor strike as a possible point in their favor during pending contract renegotiations, in light of how many entertainment industries are transitioning towards digital and streaming media; notably, the main SAG-AFTRA contract for film and television industries is due to expire in June 2017, and the solidarity behind the video game voice actors could be used as leverage in these negotiations.
[40] SAG-AFTRA and the film and television producers were able to reach a negotiated agreement for new terms in early July, preventing a possible strike action.
Keythe Farley, the chair of the SAG-AFTRA negotiations committee, said that these payments "are significantly larger now than what we had 11 months ago" and praised the new structure.
[44] Video game companies must provide additional transparencies for roles voice actors are to perform under the new terms; while they do not need to name the game or character to maintain confidentiality when offering roles, companies must provide actors with project code names, gameplay genre, if the work is based on an existing franchise or character, and whether the work will include profanity, racial slurs, obscure technology terms, sexual or violent content, or physical stunts.
[44] The agreement also will have SAG-AFTRA and the video game companies continue to work on addressing issues related to vocal stress within recording sessions.
[48][49] On July 26, 2024, SAG-AFTRA would once again go on strike against major video game developers, this time due to concerns about the use of artificial intelligence (AI).