Video game actors’ union calls for strike against League of Legends

LOS ANGELES — The hit online multiplayer video game League of Legends is caught in the middle of a dispute between the Hollywood actors’ union and an audio company that provides voice-over services for the game.

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists called for a strike against League of Legends on Tuesday, arguing that Formosa Interactive attempted to circumvent the ongoing strike in the video game industry by hiring non-union actors to work on an unrelated title.

Formosa attempted to “cancel” the unnamed video game that was the subject of the strike shortly after the work stoppage began, SAG-AFTRA said. The union said that when Formosa learned it couldn’t cancel the game, the company “secretly transferred the game to a shell company and sent out casting notices only to ‘non-union’ talent.” In response, the union’s Interactive Bargaining Committee voted unanimously to file an unfair labor practice complaint against the company with the National Labor Relations Board and to call a strike against League of Legends as part of that complaint.

“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 over 90 other game developers,” said the union’s national executive director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. “Committing unfair and illegal labor practices is unacceptable and will not be tolerated by SAG-AFTRA members.”

League of Legends is one of Formosa’s most well-known projects. The company provides voice acting services for the game, according to SAG-AFTRA.

SAG-AFTRA accused Formosa of interfering with protections that allow performers to form or join unions and preventing those performers from being discriminated against — a move the union called “flagrant violations of fundamental labor law principles.”

Formosa rejected the union’s allegations and said the company had “not acted in any way to undermine the rights of employees or the union, or our relationship with the union.”

“We believe that the strike of League of Legends, a game that has no bearing on the union’s demands, is inappropriate,” said Paul Lipson, senior vice president of Formosa Group. “We stand with developers, publishers, platform owners and talent to support global game development in a safe and ethical manner for all.”

The strike comes as the video game industry faces both weaker demand and a tougher supply environment, meaning game publishers face increasing risks as they increasingly rely on outside contractors, said Joost van Dreunen, author of “One Up: Creativity, Competition, and the Global Business of Video Games.”

Record layoffs in the video game industry this year, he added, are pushing more companies to outsource work to firms like Formosa, “raising concerns about potential reputational damage if those partners act unethically.”

“Even companies with strong reputations, like Riot Games – which is not at fault here – are seeing their risks increase due to the actions of their partners,” he said. “This puts the onus on publishers to ensure that all of their partners are upholding ethical standards to protect their brands.”

League of Legends developer Riot Games said the company “had nothing to do” with the union’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 unionized artists in the United States and has never suggested otherwise,” Riot said in an emailed statement. “Furthermore, we have never asked Formosa to cancel a game we recorded.”

SAG-AFTRA’s allegations relate to a non-Riot game, the game’s publisher said.

The union said its members must immediately stop providing covered services to “League of Legends.” As of Tuesday, the game was one of several titles that had not been delisted. Formosa is a signatory to the union.

“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 evade and abandon them,” said Sarah Elmaleh, chair of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee. “Such double-dealing is deeply disappointing from a long-time signatory to the union.”

In July, SAG-AFTRA called a strike against major video game companies after more than a year of negotiations over the union’s interactive media agreement broke down over concerns about the use of unregulated artificial intelligence. Formosa is a member of the negotiating group in those talks.

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