In a tweet, Kojima said that Kojima Productions was forced to suspend scanning and filming of actors for the OD released on Xbox in the second part of 2024 after the actors of the video game Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Artists of Radio and Television (SAG-AFTRA) The strike began in July.
Likewise, casting for Physint, Kojima’s long-awaited return to the action-espionage genre, suspended due to the strike. Kojima added that he hopes to resume production in 2025.
SAG-AFTRA video game voice actors accuse gaming companies of refusing to meet their demands on artificial intelligence. Negotiations over a new contract began in October 2022 and SAG-AFTRA members approved the strike in September 2023. Check out IGN’s feature, What the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Actors Strike Means for Gamers, for more.
What this means for OD and Physint remains to be seen, as neither game has an official release window. Both are video game/movie hybrids, with Nope and Get Out director Jordan Peele participating with Kojima in OD. Physint was announced in a Sony State of Play stream, suggesting it could launch recently on PlayStation 6.
Meanwhile, Kojima is working on Death Stranding 2, due out sometime in 2025, and the live-action Death Stranding movie with A24. In his tweet, Kojima teased that “other adaptations” are in the works and said more.
OD and Physint aren’t the only video games affected by the SAG-AFTRA strike. Last month, Activision confirmed it had recast some members of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 cast after fans noticed much-loved Zombies characters with new voices in-game. Activision said at the time: “We respect the personal choice of these performers. Out of respect for all parties, we won’t add new commentary about the ongoing negotiations with SAG-AFTRA. We look forward to a mutually beneficial outcome as soon as possible.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is not subject to the attack because it was in development before July 25, 2024, when the attack began. However, as Activision suggests, the voice actors would probably have decided not to sign new contracts in solidarity with the strikers. IGN has requested comment from SAG-AFTRA.
Photo by Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Getty Images.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
EVERYONE should be protesting contracts as it relates to AI.
Let those in power show you their true intention which is: Finding the cheapest labor possible (0 ideally, but H1B immigrants at the least).
AI is the goal. Low-cost immigrants are the bridge to this goal.
Want to know why manufacturing left the USA? Because the businesses have access to cheaper labor overseas. Manufacturing is never coming back and if things like this start to unfold, tech / artistic jobs will be lost as well.
I didn’t know there was a strike, let alone an ongoing one.
A long time ago, they made games and if they were dubbed, they were dubbed by. . . let’s say. . . not as professional actors as they are today. It’s captivating in its own way.
Yup the lines between movies games and everything are blurring. I also didn’t even know he’s working on a new action espionage game! That’s exciting!
that’s what happens when you make interactive movies, you have Hollywood ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
AI strikes, takes breaks, cuts prices, or offloads workers’ compensation.
It’s coming.
Hideo Kojima’s Xbox and Sony games affected by the actors’ strike
Hideo Kojima is the most hyped developer, and Konami is also one of the most hyped companies. In the end, either of them will realize how much they needed the other, but their egos couldn’t coexist for long. Since they split up, we’ve gotten a Postman Simulator and a remake of Silent Hill 2 with nothing left to show or break new ground.
Hopefully, in the future, AI voice acting will require genuine actors and will still be of the same or higher quality.
Death Stranding 2 is almost finished and movement capture filming have finished months ago.
But as for OD… nobody knows what it is… and nobody knows what it physint.
I can’t feel too bad about ads that are so confusing they still look like shovels.
So can we make those 80 hour videos with brief gameplay moments?
I saw in a video that Activision had used AI to imitate the voices of some of the voice actors hired in the past. Maybe they left because of THIS serious offense?
OD has “destined for cancellation” written all over it, of course, let’s blame the inevitable cancellation on the SAG strike, which is a dozen diamonds these days.
These unions are busy forcing themselves to disappear.
Maybe you should have thought this through before you decided to load “your” games with SAG members, “Lord” Kojima!