SAG-AFTRA has called a strike against League of Legends and filed an unfair labor practice charge against Formosa Interactivean audio production company that has worked on Riot Games' flagship title and dozens of other games.
In its press release, the artist's union accused Formosa of attempting to “subvert” the strike that began in JulyIt is alleged that the company attempted to cancel one of its affected video games shortly after the strike began.
According to SAG-AFTRA, Formosa was told it could not cancel the project, after which it would transfer the game to a shell company and then seek out non-union talent.
Formosa is one of the companies along with EA and Insomniac Games that previously agreed with SAG-AFTRA before the strike. Before now, Alloy It was a no-scoring game because Formosa had accepted the SAG-AFTRA strike rules.
Following this new strike, the game's voice actors have been called to “immediately cease providing covered services” to Alloy.
In addition to Riot, the company has collaborated with PlayStation (The Hell Divers II, Ghost of Tsushima), Ubisoft (Avatar: Pandora's Frontiers), and EA (Dead space 2023, Apex Legends). In addition to games, Formosa specializes in audio post-production (including sound design and voice-over) for films and TV shows.
SAG-AFTRA says the company's actions are “serious violations of fundamental labor law principles. Transferring union work to a 'non-union' shell company is an unconscionable and appalling attempt to evade a strike and destroy artists' rights under labor law.”
The Video Game Strike So Far
Before SAG-AFTRA union members went on strike, they had attempted to bargain with companies for better working conditions and wages. Some studies they accepted these conditions as the strike continued.
But the main topic has been on generative AI. The controversial technology has previously been cited as a serious point of contention, and SAG-AFTRA had fully prepared to strike if the companies refused to give in on what was suggested AI Protections.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union's chief negotiator, called Formosa's violations “beyond the pale and will not be tolerated by SAG-AFTRA members. It will be held accountable, starting with an immediate strike of League of Legends.”
Sarah Elmaleh, chair of Interactive Media Agreement negotiations, also criticized Formosa for “circumventing and abandoning the unionized artists who bring their immense talent and experience to their beloved characters.”
“Such regrettable choices are unnecessary when our union committee and staff are so collaborative and enthusiastic about creating protected work, just as our artists love collaborating with game creators and love this work,” he concluded.
The game developer has reached out to Formosa for comment and will provide updates when they receive a response.