Grand Theft Auto maker Take-Two, Electronic Arts likely to avoid major hit during strike by industry talent: analysts

Major video game publishers, including Electronic Arts and Take-Two, are likely to avoid a major hit from the crackdown on voice actors and motion-capture artists because of their in-house studios and long development cycles. games, analysts said.

The strike, which began last week, marked the latest in Hollywood after unions representing writers and actors took to the picket lines last year demanding protections against the use of artificial intelligence.

It comes at a crucial time for the video game industry as demand remains weak after a pandemic-fueled boom, with people spending fewer hours on games and sticking to big titles.

But unlike the disruption caused by last year’s strikes, the latest action is expected to have little impact since workers make up a small part of the video game development process and budget.

“When you think about the biggest publishers, they’ll spend anywhere from three to 10 years working on their biggest titles. If something comes out over the next few quarters, it will have been something they started production on several years ago,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Nick McKay.

That means Take-Two Interactive Software’s long-awaited title “Grand Theft Auto VI” — set to launch in the fall of 2025 — is unlikely to be affected by the strike that workers represented by the SAG-AFTRA union called on Thursday.

The small budget required for voice acting also gives companies little incentive to maintain projects, and without a unified body, once one developer agrees, others may follow, analysts said.

Still, the strike will be a hot topic during corporate earnings coming out in the coming weeks, said Joost Van Dreunen, a lecturer at NYU’s Stern School of Business.

The strike was a symptom of layoffs and studio closings that have hit the industry, he added.

“If it’s not resolved by early September, then I can see it continuing into the rest of the year and the holiday season,” Van Dreunen said. “It will be much more dramatic for publishers.”