Members of US actors’ union SAG-AFTRA have approved the 2025 Video Game Agreement, officially concluding the strike that began a year ago.
The union stated members voted 95.04 percent in favour of the deal, although it does not specify what proportion of membership voted.
The new contract ensures “safety guardrails” around AI, which includes “consent and disclosure requirements for AI digital replica use and the ability for performers to suspend consent for the generation of new material during a strike”.
The union previously warned of “alarming loopholes” for “AI abuse” in the previous proposal, which was a key reason for the ongoing strike.
In addition, the approved agreement increases compensation rates for performers, as well as the health and retirement contribution rates.
SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher commended the “strong leadership” of negotiating chair Sarah Elmaleh. “This deal achieves important progress around AI protections, and progress is the name of the game!” said Drescher. “My sincere respect goes out to the entire video game performer community and their allies for their solidarity during the strike which provided the necessary leverage to secure this deal’s many essential gains.”
Chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland also expressed gratitude to Elmaleh, adding: “All of us at SAG-AFTRA would like to extend our deepest appreciation to the video game performers and allies who endured a great deal of sacrifice throughout the 11-month strike.
“Now that the agreement is ratified, video game performers will be able to enjoy meaningful gains and important AI protections, which we will continue to build on as uses of this technology settle and evolve.”
In national voting completed today, SAG-AFTRA members approved the 2025 SAG-AFTRA Interactive Media Agreement by a vote of 95.04% to 4.96%, ratifying the deal and concluding the video game strike, which had already been suspended pending ratification.
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra.org) 10 July 2025 at 03:46
Audrey Cooling is the spokesperson for the video game producers party to the Interactive Media Agreement. “We are pleased that SAG-AFTRA members have ratified a new Interactive Media Agreement, which delivers historic wage increases, industry-leading AI protections, and enhanced health and safety measures for performers,” said Cooling. “We look forward to building on our industry’s decades-long partnership with the union and continuing to create groundbreaking entertainment experiences for billions of players worldwide.”
Eurogamer previously spoke with voice actor Jennifer Hale following the suspension of the strike, who stated the voice acting community is “relieved to have the freedom to work again”.
However, Hale noted there are “tremendous opportunities for repair”, and the industry must move forward from here.
“This has been a very long strike, and I’m really grateful for the opportunity that we get to come back and go to work again,” she said. “There have been several projects that have moved away from the SAG US market out of necessity, because timetables are timetables, and I truly hope that those creators will feel welcome in the US market again, because they very much are. We as a whole are enthusiastic to work with them again and deeply appreciative of the partnership that we have with them.”
UK actors’ union Equity previously applauded the “tenacity and persistence” of SAG-AFTRA members following the tentative agreement prior to this ratification.
“Equity UK now calls upon the very same global engagers to meet with us to negotiate an agreement for our video games performers in the world’s most lucrative industries that will bring fair rates of pay along with contractual terms covering AI,” Equity assistant general secretary for recorded media John Barclay told Eurogamer.
“The UK cannot be the poor relation, especially when the industry and engagers here in the UK are supported by tax breaks. So we call upon the engagers to step up to meet the challenge to make the UK games industry the best it possibly can be for creatives.”
