Steve Downes, the longtime voice actor of Halo protagonist Master Chief, has called on fans not to use generative AI to replicate his voice.
In a YouTube AMA, Downes admitted that he’s seen videos online where his voice has been recreated using the controversial technology. While he generally considers voice cloning to be “harmless,” he acknowledged that it could easily backslide and “deprive an actor of [their] work.”
As such, he would prefer “it not be done [to me]. There’s a lot of fan projects that are really cool and done just from the heart. But when you get to the AI part and deceiving somebody that these are lines I actually spoke…that’s where we cross a line that gets into an area I’m uncomfortable with.”
Recent years have seen voice actors express concern about the use of generative AI in VO. Last year, a leaked Sony test demo featured a test bot that had the voice of Aloy, the lead of the Horizon games, that was made with genAI. Aloy’s actor Ashly Burch then released a video saying she’d been informed that the Aloy bot was purely for demonstrative purposes and wasn’t made using her face or voice data. Even so, she said she was “worried” about the art form of game performances and how this technology could affect voice actors below her.
Halo is owned by Xbox, whose parent company Microsoft has been gradually going all-in on generative AI in its production pipeline and products. It’s partnered with generative AI companies to create tools meant to assist with facets of game development, which has garnered criticism among developers and players. It’s been murky whether the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolved was made with genAI: last year, an insider alleged it was, but Halo Studios has been somewhat evasive, instead saying there was no requirement to use technology some of its staff consider “a tool in a toolbox.”
Video game actors are going on strike for the first time since 2017 after months of negotiations with Activision, Epic Games, and other big publishers and studios over higher pay, better safety measures, and protections from new generative AI technologies. They’ll be hitting the picket line a year after Hollywood actors and writers wrapped up their own historic strikes in an escalation that could have big consequences for the development and marketing of some of the industry’s biggest games.
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Members of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted last fall to authorize a strike citing an unwillingness of big game companies to budge on guaranteeing performers rights over how their work is used in training AI or creating AI-generated copies. Roughly 2,600 voice actors and motion capture artists, including talents like Troy Baker from The Last of Us, Jennifer Hale from Mass Effect, and Matt Mercer from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, have been working without an Interactive Media Agreement since November 2022. The strike starts on July 26 at 12:01 a.m.
“The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually. The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games,” chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in a statement. “That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the A.I. use of their faces, voices, and bodies. Frankly, it’s stunning that these video game studios haven’t learned anything from the lessons of last year – that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to A.I., and the public supports us in that.”
“We are disappointed the union has chosen to walk away when we are so close to a deal, and we remain prepared to resume negotiations, spokesperson Audrey Cooling for the companies involved in the Interactive Media Agreement said in an emailed statement. “We have already found common ground on 24 out of 25 proposals, including historic wage increases and additional safety provisions. Our offer is directly responsive to SAG-AFTRA’s concerns and extends meaningful AI protections that include requiring consent and fair compensation to all performers working under the IMA. These terms are among the strongest in the entertainment industry.”
While games set to come out this fall like Dragon Age: The Veilguard, who’s recently revealed voice cast includes several guild members, likely already have their voice and motion-capture work completed, the strike means SAG-AFTRA members would be unavailable for projects that are years out, and wouldn’t be around to record for any potential last-minute re-writes for things that are closer to coming out. Games relied much less on actor performances in the past, but most popular franchises are now fully voice-acted, with the biggest-budget productions using motion capture to transfer actors’ real-life performances, frame by frame, into the game.
The last time video game actors went on strike in 2016, it was primarily over pay rates and lasted a entire year. It’s unclear if the strike this time around will be over any sooner. Unlike with the issue of higher pay, people involved in the current negotiations say that the lack of AI protections poses an existential threat to actors and their creative output. Just this week, Wired reported that companies like Activision Blizzard and Riot Games were moving ahead with using generative AI tools to help create concept art and even potentially assets that would make it into finished games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
“Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable A.I. protections, but rather flagrant exploitation,” said negotiating committee chair Sarah Elmaleh said in a statement. “We refuse this paradigm—we will not leave any of our members behind, nor will we wait for sufficient protection any longer. We look forward to collaborating with teams on our Interim and Independent contracts, which provide A.I. transparency, consent and compensation to all performers, and to continuing to negotiate in good faith with this bargaining group when they are ready to join us in the world we all deserve.”
SAG-AFTRA video game voice actors are set to hold a panel featuring Ashly Burch (Horizon Forbidden West), Noshir Dala (Red Dead Redemption II), and others at San Diego Comicon later this week on July 26.
Update 7/25/2024 3:42 p.m. ET: Added a statement from the game companies.
