In-development projects including Grand Theft Auto 6 are exempt from the recently-announced SAG-AFTRA strike. 

Kotaku reports that game that were already in the works before September 2023 are not part of the striking action. Live-service titles are also exempt. This is something that SAG-AFTRA is far from content with. 

"We're obviously not happy about that," the union's  chief contracts officer Ray Rodriguez told Aftermath. 

"That language was bargained into one of the legacy Interactive Media Agreements before merger [of SAG and AFTRA]. It's language that the merged union basically inherited, that I think is insane. But it’s there.”

Rodriguez added, however, that SAG-AFTRA is planning on fighting the exemption status of some of these games. 

“We do believe that there are certain titles that we can challenge, and we are preparing ourselves to bring a challenge with respect to the application of this language with respect to some of the titles,” he said. “So we are doing our best to wage the strike as effectively [and] as strongly as we can – even in spite of that language being there."

He continued: "If you apply this [language] that we're talking about to live-service games, they become contracts of unlimited duration, and there is a law that a contract of unlimited duration can be terminated on reasonable notice,” said Rodriguez. “So that's what we've done: We have provided reasonable notice that we are terminating our contract with respect to those live-service games."

SAG-AFTRA game members went on strike last week over the use of AI in development.