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SAG-AFTRA and Replica Studios agree terms for licensing AI voice replicas in video games

SAG-AFTRA announced an agreement setting minimum terms for licensing digitally replicated voices for video games. Replica must get consent before using a performer's replicated voice.

LAS VEGAS, January 9, 2024 SAG-AFTRA and Replica Studios announced an agreement on January 9, 2024, at the Consumer Electronics Show, setting minimum terms for licensing digitally replicated voices in video games. No payment rates were published in the coverage reviewed.1

Terms of the deal

Replica must obtain consent before using a performer's replicated voice, and performers can decline continued use of their voices in future projects. The agreement allows Replica to license AI voices for video game development and other media, and it permits posthumous deals only with consent from whoever the estate has designated.1

The public record on this agreement is limited to the announcement and the press coverage cited below. The price is listed here as: Undisclosed. The status shown, Announced, reflects the most recent reporting available on October 22, 2026, and any later amendments are not captured.

Background

The coverage reviewed presents the agreement as covering one company and one use, video games. Narrativ, a separate AI startup, reached a similar SAG-AFTRA agreement in August 2024 for voice replicas in digital audio advertising.2

What it means for data sellers

Voice and likeness data is licensed through consent-based frameworks. Individuals and agencies selling voice data should insist on opt-in per use and on termination rights.

A seller comparing this deal with its own situation should ask what the buyer actually receives: raw data, a license to train, a license to display, or a right to build a product. Each is priced differently, and the answer should be written into the agreement rather than inferred from a press release.

How the deal came together

  1. Union concern. Performers worried about AI replacing voice work.
  2. Negotiation. SAG-AFTRA and Replica set licensing terms.
  3. Announcement. It was announced at CES on January 9, 2024.
  4. Reaction. Some members criticized the deal on social media.

Takeaways for companies with data

  • Performer consent and the right to decline continued use are central terms.
  • Unions can set floors for voice licensing.
  • Public pushback can follow even a negotiated deal.

Sources

Every numbered reference above points to an entry here. Figures come from these pages as of the date shown at the top of the article. Where a source reports a number it got from unnamed people, the text says so.

  1. Actors union announces deal for AI voice acting licensing in video games (NBC News, January 2024)
  2. SAG-AFTRA partners with Narrativ to let actors license their voices for AI (CO/AI, August 2024)

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About the AI Data Deal Tracker

SellYourAIData tracks publicly reported sales and licenses of data to AI companies, with the price, terms and sources for each. Entries are checked against public reporting and updated as deals change. SellYourAIData was not involved in this deal. To ask what your company's data could sell for, get a free valuation. To report a deal, contact us.