‘League of Legends’ added to video game actors’ strike as SAG-AFTRA accuses producer Formosa Interactive of unfair labor practices

After previously being exempted from inclusion in the ongoing strike by video game industry players, Riot Games’ massively multiplayer online role-playing game “League of Legends” has been added to the list of titles blocked by SAG-AFTRA as part of the union’s accusations of unfair labor practices against Formosa Interactive.

According to SAG-AFTRA, Formosa, a union signatory that provides voice-over services for “League of Legends,” is accused of attempting to “cancel” one of its video game strikes “shortly after the start of the SAG-AFTRA video game strike” on July 26. SAG-AFTRA has filed a complaint against the company with the National Labor Relations Board.

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“When told that was not possible, they secretly transferred the game to a shell company and sent casting notices only to ‘NON-UNION’ performers,” the union said. “SAG-AFTRA asserts that these serious actions are flagrant violations of fundamental labor law principles – employers cannot interfere with a performer’s right to form or join a union and they cannot discriminate against union performers. The unilateral and surreptitious transfer of union work to a ‘non-union’ shell company is an unconscionable and appalling attempt to evade a strike and destroy performers’ labor rights.”

It should be noted that SAG-AFTRA is not accusing Riot Games of unfair labor practices, but rather calling for a strike against “League of Legends” because it is the most high-profile title produced by Formosa Interactive.

In a statement Tuesday, Riot Games, the publisher of League of Legends, said: “League of Legends has nothing to do with the complaint referenced in the SAG-AFTRA press release. We want to be clear: Since becoming a union project five years ago, League of Legends has only asked Formosa to engage with unionized artists in the United States and has never suggested otherwise. Additionally, we have never asked Formosa to cancel a game we recorded. Any allegations in the SAG-AFTRA press release regarding the cancellation of a game or the hiring of non-union talent relate to a non-Riot game and have nothing to do with League or any of our games.”

Representatives for Formosa Interactive did not immediately respond to VarietyRequest for comment from.

While last year’s strike against Hollywood studios organized by SAG-AFTRA was organized by company, the video game actors’ strike, whose main sticking point is protections against generative AI, is being handled on a title-by-title basis. Several games are exempt from the strike, primarily those that were in production before fall 2023, when the actors’ union’s last contract with video game publishers was extended.

The video game companies included in the strike bargaining committee are Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Llama Productions LLC, Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc. and WB Games Inc.

“It’s bad enough that Formosa and other companies refuse to accept the fair terms on AI that have been agreed to by the film, television, streaming and music industries, as well as more than 90 other game developers,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator, said in a statement Tuesday. “Committing illegal unfair labor practices is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by SAG-AFTRA members. Formosa will be held accountable, starting with an immediate strike from ‘League of Legends.’”

Sarah Elmaleh, Chair of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee, added: “League of Legends is a game of champions. Instead of supporting the union artists who bring their immense talent and experience to beloved characters, Formosa’s decision-makers have chosen to try to outwit and abandon them. Such double-dealing is deeply disappointing from a long-time union signatory. And such unfortunate choices are unnecessary when our union committee and staff are as collaborative and enthusiastic about creating copyrighted works as our artists are about collaborating with game creators and loving the work.”

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