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The addition of Darth Vader in Fortnite has been quite controversial so far. Epic Games added the iconic Star Wars character with the latest update, allowing players to talk to him. The character is powered by AI and uses the voice of late James Earl Jones, who portrayed the antagonist in the original Star Wars trilogy.
While there is no doubt that this was a perfect move for the season, the game developer has gotten into legal trouble because of it. More specifically, SAG-AFTRA filed an unfair labor practice charge against Llama Productions, a company owned by Epic Games.
Fortnite was charged with unfair labor practice due to the addition of Darth Vader
Artificial Intelligence has taken over the world, causing a lot of controversy. Several game developers have been accused of using it to create in-game assets, from Palworld to Warno. Epic has been straightforward about the usage of AI with the Darth Vader Fortnite update, yet this has still caused lots of controversy.
In the beginning, the popular Star Wars character could be tricked into saying things that he wasn’t meant to say. Epic quickly fixed this, but was hit with an unfair labor practice shortly after. Despite getting the permission from both Disney and James Earl Jones, the game developer is now involved in a legal trouble.
“We celebrate the right of our members and their estates to control the use of their digital replicas and welcome the use of new technologies to allow new generations to share in the enjoyment of those legacies and renowned roles. However, we must protect our right to bargain terms and conditions around uses of voice that replace the work of our members, including those who previously did the work of matching Darth Vader’s iconic rhythm and tone in video games,” SAG-AFTRA posted, while also announcing a charge against Llama Productions.
The labor union filed this due to Fortnite using AI “without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms.” Considering that many voice actors represented by the union refuse working with some companies due to the usage of AI, this could put Epic Games on a hot seat. However, we’ll have to wait for a while longer for the situation to develop.
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Fortnite
- Platform(s): Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X
- Genre(s): Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter
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