The SAG-AFTRA strike, which affects our industry, has been active for over five months now, and so far, few relevant agreements have been reached. Actors in our industry demand greater protection for their tool of work, in this case their voice, against the use of AI, but also ask for better working conditions. In this crisis context, the actors’ union has focused on League of Legends after discovering that the company responsible for hiring voice actors for Riot Games’ game, Formosa Interactive, had started a new hiring process, bypassing the strike through a ghost company.
The main accusation of SAG-AFTRA against Formosa Interactive is based on the company’s attempt to evade the strike restrictions by secretly transferring one of its projects to a ghost company, in order to not be “detected” by the union. According to this organization, this action aimed to evade the obligation to work with unionized actors and allow casting of non-union talents.
“SAG-AFTRA denounces that these serious actions constitute flagrant violations of basic labor legislation principles: employers cannot interfere with artists’ rights to form or join a union, nor discriminate against unionized artists,” adds the union in its accusation. In fact, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the union was aware of these actions and when they tried to stop them, Formosa ignored them and continued operating through the mentioned ghost company.
Horizon Forbidden West is another game associated with Formosa
“The unilateral and surreptitious transfer of union work to a non-union ghost company is an unacceptable and heinous attempt to evade a strike and destroy the rights of performing artists under labor legislation,” they added. The situation becomes even more complicated when we consider that Formosa has worked on renowned titles such as Call of Duty, Death Stranding, and God of War, making this conflict an important turning point in the industry.
Riot Games distances itself from these actions
In response, Riot Games has issued a statement distancing itself from the accusations and ensuring that League of Legends is not involved in the practices mentioned by SAG-AFTRA. The company clarified that since League of Legends became a union project, they have exclusively requested Formosa to work with union artists in the United States. Riot also denied ordering the cancellation of any game related to the accusations, stating that these refer to a title that does not belong to their catalog.
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Despite Riot’s statements, SAG-AFTRA has maintained its strong stance, alleging that Formosa’s actions constitute a flagrant violation of labor rights. According to the union, the transfer of work to a ghost company is a deliberate attempt to undermine the strike and weaken the rights of unionized artists. As a result, SAG-AFTRA members have been called to stop any service related to League of Legends until the accusations are resolved.
This conflict is part of a broader strike that began in July, after 18 months of fruitless negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and several video game companies. Among the companies involved are Activision, Disney, EA, Insomniac Games, and Epic Games. Although some titles in development before September 2023 are exempt from the strike, the conflict continues to have a significant impact on the digital entertainment industry.
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