The global video game industry is in a critical phase of transformation, during 2023, in the United States alone, approximately 11,250 employees were laid off, a surprising figure but certainly not comparable to the 6,000 layoffs in the first two months of 2024. After the boom recorded by the sector during the years of the Covid SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the industry has entered a phase of contraction aggravated by the increase in game development costs, which can now reach 200-300 million dollars for AAA titles, and by the need of many companies to reduce high operating costs.
A report from the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) reveals that the unemployment rate in the industry has risen to 4.8% globally and economic difficulties and challenges in finding financing have pushed and are pushing many companies to reduce staff, cancel projects and close development studios. Technological evolution and the increasingly widespread and systemic use of artificial intelligence are gradually transforming in an increasingly radical way the way in which games are produced, developed, localized and launched, creating tensions in the entire system of businesses and companies that contribute to the creation of the finished product..
The Sag-Aftra strike represents a significant battle for the professionals who lend their voices and likenesses to the making of video games. Fran Drescher, president of Sag-Aftra, said: “We will not accept a contract that allows companies to abusing AI to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough. When these companies really commit and propose an agreement that allows our members to live and work, we will be here, ready to negotiate.“. Actors regularly lend their voices, likenesses, and movements to video game projects. While voice acting and motion capture are crucial parts of game development, artificial intelligence is disrupting the way developers create games. While they have reached agreement on other points, the companies and Sag-Aftra have been unable to find common ground on AI.
Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game companies involved in the negotiations, expressed disappointment that the negotiations had broken down, saying: “Our offer directly addresses Sag-Aftra’s concerns and extends meaningful AI protection, including consent and fair compensation, to all artists working under the Ima. These conditions are among the strongest in the entertainment industry.“. The group of companies involved includes names such as Activision, Disney, Electronic Arts, Insomniac Games, Take-Two and Warner Bros.
In Italy, Keywords Studios Italy employees are on strike, with a strike expected to end today, August 6. The decision by Filcams Cgil, Fisascat Cisl and Uiltucs, together with the RSA, contests the collective dismissal procedure of 31 employees out of 159 by Keywords Italythe Italian branch of Keywords Studios, which provides various services in the video game sector, including localization, quality assurance (LQA) and dubbing. About 20% of the employees were laid off, halving the localization and audio support department, and completely eliminating the branch’s LQA department. Similar layoffs also occurred at KWS branches in Spain, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Brazil.. The layoffs occurred after the acquisition of the Swedish investment fund EQT, for over two billion euros. “Human intelligence and the professional skills of people, workers, cannot be replaced by machines. Machines and artificial intelligence must support work and do not replace human beings“, the unions underline in the joint text.
One of the crucial points of the Italian voice actors’ strike, the protection from improper use of generative artificial intelligence, has produced the rule that defines as illegitimate “any text and data mining activity and any sampling, such as modification, re-elaboration and use in any other form of the voice of each interpreter to develop or train artificial intelligence algorithms“, unless otherwise specifically agreed.
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