Development of Grand Theft Auto 6 will not be affected by potential video game strike action from members of the SAG-AFTRA, Take-Two has said during its latest earnings call overnight.
Speaking during a Q&A session, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked the following:
If voice actors and motion capture were to go on strike, would it slow down the production of the next Grand Theft Auto at Rockstar? Does Rockstar have the type of employment contracts that would allow the actors to work through a strike?
In response, the executive offered:
Negotiations are expected to resume next week. We’re optimistic, we value all of our talent greatly, we value excellent labour relations and we’re looking forward to reaching an agreement that serves everyone well. That’s always been my approach. I’ve been involved with labour negotiations in every entertainment industry there is in my career and they’ve always worked out just fine. In the event that they don’t work out just fine, we are completely protected.
Members of the labour union for American actors recently voted 98.32% in favour of strike authorisation n regards to the Interactive Media Agreement, which covers members’ video game work. While this doesn’t guarantee a strike is going to be called, it does mean that if SAG-AFTRA doesn’t reach acceptable terms while negotiating the Interactive Media Agreement, then a strike can be called immediately.
Grand Theft Auto 6 is currently in development at Rockstar Games, with the company announcing yesterday that it will unveil the game’s first trailer in early December.
[Source – VGC]