GTA VI is exempt from the video game actors' strike, Kotaku reports

Union actors can keep working on Grand Theft Auto VI during the SAG-AFTRA video game strike that started on July 26, Kotaku reported that day. Neither Rockstar nor Take-Two commented directly.

The report

Kotaku's evidence was an emailed statement, "I can confirm GTA VI is exempt," and an entry in SAG-AFTRA's database of struck projects that still allowed members to work on the game. Kotaku credited the statement to a spokesperson for the companies' side. VGC and GamesRadar+ described the source as the union instead.

The walkout is over AI protections for performers, and Take-Two's performance unit, Take 2 Productions, is one of the companies struck. A union statement quoted by GamesRadar+ explains the exemption: the strike order does not cover games "in production at the time that the union provided the company its notice of termination." GTA VI, in development for years, falls under that rule.

What it means for players

If the report is right, the strike will not hold up voice or motion capture work on GTA VI, which is due in fall 2025.

Background

The union's talks with companies including Take-Two had been running since October 2022. On Take-Two's November 8, 2023 earnings call, an analyst asked whether a strike could slow the next GTA. CEO Strauss Zelnick said he was optimistic, adding: "In the event that they don't work out just fine, we are completely protected," VGC reported. That was a general comment, not a confirmation of this exemption.

What happened next

The strike lasted 320 days. SAG-AFTRA members ratified a new Interactive Media Agreement, and the union announced the result on July 9, 2025, TheWrap reported.