SAG-AFTRA suggests GTA 6 and other games not technically hit by strike could still be impacted

US workers body SAG-AFTRA says its voice actors strike could still impact projects that have been in development for over a year, including games like GTA 6, despite the terms of its agreement stating they should be safe.

Initially, last week's shock announcement of strike action by video game actors over AI concerns was thought to have minimal impact on games expected to release later this year, as it did not include games that commenced production before August 2023.

Now, however, SAG-AFTRA says all "members who want to show solidarity with the union can elect voluntarily not to work", intimating that it believed the strike could be more disruptive than previously suspected and impact "non-struck" games.

"Members who want to show solidarity with the union can elect voluntarily not to work on these titles," SAG-AFTRA's chief contracts officer Ray Rodriguez told Inverse.

"And we know that many of our members are going to become unavailable to work on those.

"So while [non-struck games like GTA 6] may not be subject to a strike in the technical sense, their production is also subject to being disrupted by members who don't want to work without the protection of AI terms and who don't want to undermine solidarity with the union."

Last week, the US actors' union announced a strike after failing to reach a deal with major video game companies over the use of AI following "more than a year and a half of negotiations".

UK actors' union Equity says it stands "in solidarity" with SAG-AFTRA following news of the strike, though won't be authorising a strike itself.