SAG-Aftra strikes covering the rights of video game voice actors against AI have been an ongoing battle for a while. And it turns out this game industry strike just got a bit bigger with more support pouring in from overseas, namely from a certain Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher trilogy. More specifically, it’s Geralt’s English voice actor, Doug Cockle. He has recently voiced his support for the SAG-Aftra strikes in the US.
Additionally, Doug Cockle wanted to join in on the fray. Here’s what he had to say about the video game industry strikes, based on an interview with BBC. Cockle explains:
“Some studios have stopped making their games, so the voiceover industry has slowed right down. The actors in SAG-Aftra aren’t just striking for themselves. They’re striking for the creative industries. If they can strike a good deal, that could be a template for other industries…
…I think it’s so fantastic that the [actors in] the US are doing what they’re doing at the moment. As with a lot of things, as goes the US, so follows everywhere else. If they can start to get those things in place, it can become industry standard, not just in the US.”
Geralt’s VA is Stuck in the UK
Cockle was also frustrated that UK voice actors couldn’t join the strike because “there’s no legal support for it.” So he and other UK-based voice actors could only voice out their support for SAG-Aftra.
Along with Doug Cockle, Harry McEntire (Noah in Xenoblade Chronicles 3), and Alex Jordan (Cyberpunk 2077) fear that generative AI might take their jobs, especially if more game studios opt to cut costs and forego human voice actors.
At the moment, SAG-Aftra has yet to strike a favorable deal with 10 video game companies about how they should use generative AI. Sadly, as Cockle has mentioned, any voice actors outside the US won’t be covered in the pending policies. Still, that won’t stop Geralt from supporting these game industry strikes.
