EA is 'Not Anticipating Any Significant Short-Term Impact' From SAG-AFTRA Strike - News

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Video game actors who are members of the SAG-AFTRA union last week voted to go on strike starting on July 26.

Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson in an earnings call with investors was asked how the strike will disrupt their business in the short-term.

"Let me first say we deeply value our talent and actors who are an important part of the work we do to deliver the incredible entertainment experiences that our players enjoy around the world," said Wilson (via VideoGamesChronicle).

"This is not an EA-specific situation, this is an industry-specific situation, and we’re working diligently to negotiate at the table. The way it works now, in terms of our products specifically, is that the strike is limited to games commencing production after September 2023, including live service games.

"So we don’t expect any near-term disruption to any of the games we have in development, or any of the live services we’re currently running. That being said, we’re committed to continuing to bargain in good faith, and are hopeful that the parties can expediently resolve our issues at the bargaining table. But we’re not anticipating any significant short-term impact at EA."

The strike is happening after negotiations with multiple video game companies failed to come up with acceptable protections for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for SAG-AFTRA members.

The video game companies that SAG-AFTRA has been negotiating with includes Activision Productions, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, Electronic Arts Productions, Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games, Llama Productions, Take 2 Productions,, VoiceWorks Productions, and WB Games.

These video game companies won't be able to hire actors who are members of the SAG-AFTRA union.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

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