SAG-AFTRA has called a strike against the video game League of Legends. Under this action, any union voice actors must cease working on the popular MOBA from Riot Games. The union said it has also filed a charge of unfair labor practice against Formosa Interactive, which provides voiceover services for League, with the National Labor Relations Board.
Formosa Interactive was one of several high-profile video game companies named in a strike by voice acting talent earlier this year. SAG-AFTRA is working to negotiate with those developers for protections against AI replicas of its members, including those who perform in games.
Today, the union alleged that Formosa attempted to “cancel” a game that was included in the strike. “When they were told that was not possible, they secretly transferred the game to a shell company and sent out casting notices for “non-union” talent only,” according to the press statement. “SAG-AFTRA charges that these serious actions are egregious violations of core tenets of labor law – that employers cannot interfere with performers’ rights to form or join a union and they cannot discriminate against union performers.”
League of Legends is just one of the titles where Formosa Interactive provides services. In addition to voiceover work, Formosa Interactive also offers services such as facial capture, sound design and mixing. It has credits on games including God of War Ragnarok, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Riot Games has issued the following statement about the strike: “League of Legends has nothing to do with the complaint mentioned in SAG-AFTRA’s press release. We want to be clear: Since becoming a union project five years ago, League of Legends has only asked Formosa to engage with Union performers in the US and has never once suggested doing otherwise. In addition, we’ve never asked Formosa to cancel a game that we’ve registered. All of the allegations in SAG-AFTRA’s press release relating to canceling a game or hiring non-union talent relate to a non-Riot game, and have nothing to do with League or any of our games.”
Update, September 24, 2024, 5:47PM ET: Updated to include statement from Riot Games.
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