There’s a storm looming in the video game voice acting community, and it may be quickly heading towards a strike. The actors union, SAG-AFTRA, is considering a strike because of the way their members are being treated by the video game industry. Many of these talented people have taken to Twitter to show support for the vote of taking action.
Some of the demands include better back-end bonus rates, so that if a game does well, they will be rewarded for taking part in that success. Currently, the proposal is a bonus being activated when a title hits 2 million sales. There’s also a demand for stunt pay, since the job is evolving to now include motion capture. Prominent voice actors have taken to Twitter to spread the word for #PerformanceMatters and #iAmOnBoard2015, which in itself is a form of protest.
Standing by fellow actors and friends. #PerformanceMatters. If you'd like actors who work on videogames to be treated well, you should too.
— Elias Toufexis (@EliasToufexis) September 22, 2015
I love voice acting in video games, but our employers don't seem to think #PerformanceMatters, so I voted YES to strike. #iamonboard2015
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) September 22, 2015
Game industry makes 3 TIMES as much annual $ as the Hollywood film industry. Actors don't 🙁 #PerformanceMatters pic.twitter.com/91WWgVocVU
— Ken Lally (@KenLally) September 22, 2015
Voice acting in video games requires a special skill set that producers don't seem to appreciate…#iAmOnBoard2015
— Sean Schemmel (@SeanSchemmel) September 22, 2015
Gonna share some of my fav fan tweets proving #PerformanceMatters pic.twitter.com/HPLmNGqYh2
— tara strong (@tarastrong) September 22, 2015
voted YES bc #performancematters #Iamonboard2015 pic.twitter.com/RxsdD1S1Zj
— Jennifer Hale (@jhaletweets) September 22, 2015
That’s not the end of the story though–this is a fluid situation, after all. Far Cry 4 director Alex Hutchinsonm, also took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the strike, and why he’s concerned with the demands by the union.
If @WilWheaton gets royalties on a game before myself or any of the others who spent years (not weeks) working on it, the system is broken.
— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) September 23, 2015
@helava @WilWheaton Ask him if he gets residuals for Star Trek: TNG or movies. The answer is no. And the actors contribute more for those.
— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) September 23, 2015
@wilw Tthe idea that not paying royalties is equal to us not caring about vocal performance is ridiculous.
— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) September 23, 2015
What the actors are asking for does not seem to be coming from an unfounded place. They want to be treated much better, and be acknowledged for their performances. But, Alex has some good points that make it seem like this is going to get messy very quickly. I also found this interesting since Bungie recently inserted Nolan North’s (one of the best voice actors in the industry who has yet  to chime in on the situation) voice into Destiny, in an attempt to put out a better product. Make of that what you will.
You can go here for more information on SAG-AFTRA.
Do you think voice actors are making a strong case here? How quickly of you believe this will be resolved? Let us know in the comments section below.
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HT: Gameinformer, VG24/7
