Voice actors for video games are considering going on strike. The SAG-AFTRA actors’ union and some AAA video game developers have been stuck in negotiations for a long time.
The union wants to negotiate the concept of the “backened bonus.” In the backend bonus model, voice actors are paid less at first. However, the decrease in payment is made up by a performance bonus. A performance bonus is paid post-release after certain conditions are met.
The SAG-AFTRA union was hoping to get a performance bonus for every 2 million copies of a game that is sold. A residual payment would be given to voice actors for every 2 million copies, and these payment would continue along with the game’s sales.
The backened bonuses are also good for smaller gaming companies. They could help prevent those smaller companies from having to make residual payments. This would help the companies that don’t quite meet the same numbers in sales as larger gaming companies.
SAG-AFTRA states that they will go on strike if 75% of its members are in support of doing so Union members would not be required to work during the strike. SAG-AFTRA also hopes non-union members will show their support by not working as well, if the strike happens.
Many actors have shown their support for the strike on Twitter. Will Wheaton tweeted about it:
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
Jennifer Hale, Ashley Burch, Phil LaMarr, and Steve Blum also showed their support for the strike with the hashtags #PerformanceMatters and #iamonboard2015.
It is unknown if there will be a strike or not. Only time will tell. However, we can only hope this situation is brought to a quick resolution.
We will have more information on this story as it progresses.
