Video Game Actors’ Union Calls For Strike Against ‘League Of Legends’ Sound Company
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) are calling for a strike against “League of Legends” due to the sound company Formosa Interactive’s attempt to get around the ongoing video game strike by hiring non-union actors to work on an unrelated video game title.
According to the Associated Press, SAG-AFTRA said Formosa tried to cancel the unnamed video game shortly after the strike began. The union also stated when Formosa learned it could not cancel the game, the company “secretly transferred the game to a shell company and sent out casting notices for ‘non-union’ talent only.”
SAG-AFTRA responded to this action by unanimously voting to file an unfair labor practice charge against the company along with the National Labor Relations Board to call for a strike against “League of Legends” as a part of the charge.
“It’s bad enough that Formosa and other companies are refusing to agree to the fair AI terms that have been agreed to by the film, television, streaming, and music industries, as well as more than 90 other game developers,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union’s national executive director.
“To commit illegal unfair labor practices is beyond the pale and won’t be tolerated by SAG-AFTRA members.”
“League of Legends” is one of Formosa’s most-well known projects, as it provides voiceover services for the game. SAG-AFTRA is accusing Formosa of “interfering with protections that allow performers to form or join a union and prevent those performers from being discriminated against — a move the union called ‘egregious violations of core tenets of labor law,’” AP reported.
“We believe the strike of ‘League of Legends,’ a game unrelated to the union’s claims, is not appropriate. We stand with developers, publishers, platform holders and talent to support global game development in a way that is safe and ethical for all,” said Paul Lipson, senior vice president of Formosa Group.
“This year’s record game industry layoffs, he added, lead to more companies outsourcing work to firms like Formosa, “which raises concerns about potential damage to reputations if these partners act unethically,” said Joost van Dreunen, author of “One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games.”
“Even companies with strong reputations, like Riot Games—which is not at fault here—see their risks rise due to their partners’ actions. It forces publishers to ensure all their partners meet ethical standards to protect their brands,” he stated.
Riot Games, the developer of “League of Legends” stated that their company doesn’t have anything to do with SAG-AFTRA’s complaint.
“We want to be clear: Since becoming a union project five years ago, ‘League of Legends’ has only asked Formosa to engage with union performers in the U.S. and has never once suggested doing otherwise. In addition, we’ve never asked Formosa to cancel a game that we’ve registered,” Riot said in a statement to AP.
In response, Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh stated that: “League of Legends is a game of champions. Instead of championing the union performers who bring their immense talent and experience to beloved characters, decision-makers at Formosa have chosen to try to evade and abandon them. Such double-dealing is very disappointing from a longtime committed union signatory.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
