By Andrés Buenahora

Video game company Lightspeed LA has signed a SAG-AFTRA interim Interactive Media Agreement that will allow the company to continue production with union workers even as a strike against other major video game publishers has been going on for six weeks.

The deal applies to current and future Lightspeed LA games. The company is home to the game “Last Sentinel,” the studio’s first title to move forward under the new agreement. SAG-AFTRA is striking against Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros. Games and other major publishers. The union is calling for tighter restrictions on the use of AI to create digital replicas of artists and their voices or likenesses, as well as higher minimum fees to address the impact of inflation in recent years.

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with Lightspeed LA. Their upcoming game may be set in a world of technology gone wild, but by agreeing to fair terms, they’re working to ensure that the real future isn’t a dystopian one for artists,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator of SAG-AFTRA. “My thanks to Steve, the entire crew at Lightspeed LA, and the SAG-AFTRA members working on this project, who all made this collaboration possible.”