Game Actors And Devs Protest Outside The Game Awards

thegamer.com:

Game developers and actors protested outside of The Game Awards last night, calling on the industry to unionise. This comes after a year full of mass layoffs and many fearing that their jobs will be replaced with AI.

At The Game Awards, the acting union SAG-AFTRA partnered with Game Workers of SoCal to protest outside of the show, sharing leaflets detailing the issues workers are facing in the industry. Here, more game workers joined the cause, picketing outside the show in front of all attendees as they entered the venue.

SAG-AFTRA focussed on handing out leaflets as guests entered the show, explaining what the union is fighting for. This includes protections against AI and "meaningful wage increases".

We've spoken with gaming actors in the past about this issue, with many big names in the business making their objections to the usage of AI voice cloning technology known.

As well as this, game workers could be seen picketing outside the entrance, calling attention to the incredibly high number of layoffs across the entire industry. They could be seen encouraging their peers to unionise, so they can have more control in how their workplaces are run.

These feelings were only compounded by the host and producer of The Game Awards, Geoff Keighley, failing to use his platform to raise awareness of the mass layoffs across the industry this year. In fact, many accused him of disrespecting game workers even further, after many developers had their acceptance speeches cut short. After around 30 to 40 seconds, developers were told to "please wrap up" their speeches, and if they didn't, music would start playing to encourage them to hurry up.

Keighley has since responded to this complaint, saying that it will be addressed in