Video Game Voice Actor Union Announces Strike

Unionized video game voice actors are officially going on strike. 

For some time, those video game voice actors represented by the SAG-AFTRA union have been campaigning for a pay raise. The Interactive Vidoe Game Companies group (a governing body for the video game industry) recently offered one in the form of a nine percent raise on current fees. Additionally, publishers are willing to pay $950 more for sessions based on the volume of work. The pay rate for a four-hour session would also be raised to $900. 

This proposal was not only rejected by the union, it wasn't even taken into consideration. They sent a message to all of their members advising them to "withhold performing services and auditioning for work." 

The reason behind this quick rejection is the fact that this pay raise does not address the primary concern the union has with the current financial structure of the industry. What they're looking for is a way for video game voice actors to be compensated based on how successful a game is. They want to implement some kind of system that allows actors to accept either an upfront bonus or choose to take less money upfront with the promise that additional compensation will be awarded if certain sales goals are met. 

Furthermore, the union is looking to combat the current culture in which actors are often unaware of the nature of the game they will be doing voicework for until the last minute. Yes, as strange as it sounds, many voice actors are not given time to prep for the roles they take due to the secretive nature of the projects themselves.

Generally speaking, the union is looking to combat an agreement that was written during a different time for the video game industry. 

The LA Times is reporting that this strike will not currently have a devastating effect as only 25% of the games on the current market feature voicework from these unionized actors. Major companies like WB Games, Activision, and EA do employ these represented actors, however.