Unionized video game performers have overwhelmingly voted to approve a new contract with their employers. The vote, whose results were announced Wednesday night by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, ends a nearly three-year-long effort from union negotiators to obtain a new contract for the performers. The process, which included an 11-month strike against several major game makers, hinged on how artificial intelligence would affect performers in the industry. SAG-AFTRA said 95% of the members who voted favored ratification. The new contract delivers pay raises, control over performers' likenesses and artificial intelligence protections. A tentative contract agreement was first reached in early June between the union and an industry bargaining group consisting of several major video game companies, including Activision, Disney and Electronic Arts. Video game performers "endured a great deal of sacrifice throughout the 11-month strike," Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator said in a press release announcing the results. "Now that the agreement is ratified, video game performers will be able to enjoy meaningful gains and important A.I. protections, which we will continue to build on as uses of this technology settle and evolve," Crabtree-Ireland wrote. Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the video game producers involved in the deal, wrote that the agreement "delivers historic wage increases, industry-leading A.I. protections, and enhanced health and safety measures for performers." "We look forward to building on our industry's decades-long partnership with the union and continuing to create groundbreaking entertainment experiences for billions of players... Read More