SAG-AFTRA launches Pre-Funding Pitch Interactive Media Agreement, capping funded demos at 30%

Published 5 Nov 2026 · Games Atlas Editorial · Union & Collective Action · Companies: ACTRA, Activision, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Insomniac Games, Take-Two Interactive, The Walt Disney Company

Games Atlas summary: SAG-AFTRA introduced the Pre-Funding Pitch Interactive Media Agreement on November 5, 2026. The contract lets developers hire union voice and motion-capture talent before full funding. Eligibility requires funding secured below 30% and no public release. That threshold structure requires developers to actively manage disclosed funding levels.

What qualifies under the new contract

• The agreement covers trailers, teasers, demos, vertical slices, playable prototypes and sizzle reels.
• Materials must be built solely to solicit production funding, not for public release.
• Previously SAG-AFTRA had no specific guideline for hiring actors on publisher-facing pitch content.
• "This agreement allows developers to up their game by bringing in professional voice and motion performance talent earlier in the process." - Sean Astin, SAG-AFTRA President

Eligibility rules set a capitalization checkpoint

• Projects lose eligibility once secured funding exceeds 30% of initial production budget.
• Material cannot present the experience of a complete interactive project.
• The agreement excludes crowdfunded campaigns and anything already released or publicly playable.
• Developers who partly meet the criteria can request a waiver from the union.

The deal extends protections won in the 2024-2025 actors strike

• SAG-AFTRA ratified the Interactive Media Agreement after an 11-month strike and three years of bargaining.
• That contract covered publishers including Activision, Disney, EA, Epic Games, Insomniac Games and Take-Two.
• GameDeveloper's Imran Khan says the funding cap may discourage reliance on AI voice work.
• "The Pre-Funding Pitch Interactive Media Agreement streamlines the hiring of professional union talent." - Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and CEO

What this means

• For Publishers & Developers: Record pitch performances before closing any funding tranche to preserve union pitch-contract eligibility.
• For Investors & VC: Add pitch-contract performer conversion costs to diligence on pre-seed vertical slices.
• For Service Vendors: Pitch bundled mocap and voice-casting packages to unfunded studios building publisher vertical slices.

Sources

• Union actors could appear in early game demos, under new SAG-AFTRA plan | VGC (videogameschronicle.com)
• SAG-AFTRA Introduces Agreement Allowing Game Developers to Use Union Talent in "Interactive Pitch Projects" (thisweekinvideogames.com)
• SAG-AFTRA wants developers to hire union actors for pitch demos - GamesBeat (gamesbeat.com)
• SAG-AFTRA introduces new process for using actors in game pitches (gamedeveloper.com)