July 25 (Reuters) - Videogame voice actors and

motion-capture performers have called a strike over failed labor

contract negotiations focused around AI-related protections for

workers, bringing about another work stoppage in Hollywood.

The SAG-AFTRA has called a strike of the Interactive Media

Agreement that covers video game performers, effective July 26,

the union said on Thursday.

The decision follows months of negotiations with major

videogame companies including Activision Productions, Electronic

Arts ( EA ), Epic Games, Take-Two Interactive, Disney

Character Voices and Warner Bros Discovery's ( WBD ) WB

Games.

The Interactive Media Agreement expired in November 2022 and

was being extended on a monthly basis during the talks.

"Although agreements have been reached on many issues

important to SAG-AFTRA members, the employers refuse to plainly

affirm, in clear and enforceable language, that they will

protect all performers covered by this contract in their AI

language," the union said in a statement.

The SAG-AFTRA also represents the film and television actors

who went on strike in July last year over concerns of inadequate

safeguards against artificial intelligence (AI), putting

Hollywood in the midst of two simultaneous work stoppages for

the first time in 63 years.

While movie and TV studios negotiated from a unified

position, and had the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television

Producers (AMPTP) negotiating on their behalf, there is no such

analogous group in the games industry, so it is highly likely

that one or more game developers will accept the union's

demands, said Wedbush managing director Michael Pachter.

"Once one (developer) does it, all will do it."

Apart from AI protections, the SAG-AFTRA's most pressing

issues in the contract negotiations for videogame performers are

higher pay, medical treatment and breaks for motion capture

performers.

SAG-AFTRA says pay for videogame performers has not kept

pace with inflation. It is also pursuing more protections for

the motion-capture performers who wear markers or sensors on the

skin or a body suit to help game makers create character

movements.

"We are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when

we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume

negotiations. We have already found common ground on 24 out of

25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional

safety provisions," said Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the

videogame producers party to the Interactive Media Agreement.

The offer presented to the SAG-AFTRA features AI protections

that include requiring consent and fair compensation to all

performers working under the IMA, Cooling said.

Still, Wedbush's Pachter said voice actors constitute a very

small portion of game development costs that average over $80

million, and voice acting makes up only about $500,000 of that.

"It just isn't worth holding up a game's release to save a

few hundred thousand dollars," said Pachter.

(Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa, Danielle Broadway and Dawn

Chmielewski; Editing by Devika Syamnath)