SAG-AFTRA pre-funding game pitch agreement: requirements and pay

SAG-AFTRA has introduced an agreement for game teams that need performers to create private funding-pitch materials before a project is fully financed. It covers qualifying assets such as demos and vertical slices, but it is not a general contract for public previews or other early-development work.

The union announced its Pre-Funding Pitch Interactive Media Agreement on November 5, 2026. Producers can use it to engage performers for trailers, teasers, sizzle reels, playable prototypes, demos, vertical slices and similar materials made exclusively to solicit production funding for a prospective game.

The short answer for developers is therefore yes: an unfunded or lightly funded game may be able to record voice or motion-performance work for a private pitch. The restrictions matter, however. The agreement does not authorize a public demo, a crowdfunding campaign or the use of pitch-only work in a completed game without additional terms taking effect.

What the pre-funding pitch agreement covers

Under the official agreement and application form, a “Pitch Project” can be a trailer, teaser, sizzle, playable prototype, demo, vertical slice or other pitch material. It must be created exclusively to solicit production funding for a prospective interactive project.

That makes the agreement relevant to a developer preparing a private presentation for prospective financing. It does not mean every performer engaged under the agreement must already be a SAG-AFTRA member. The performer acknowledgment expressly contemplates non-members and says their work under this agreement does not count toward SAG-AFTRA membership eligibility.

In the union’s announcement, SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said, This agreement allows developers to up their game.

The official terms nevertheless exclude:

• a complete game;
• commercially released pitch material;
• material that is publicly viewable or publicly playable;
• a crowdfunding pitch; and
• material intended to obtain milestone funding.

In practical terms, developers should not treat this as a route to release a public Steam demo, publish a promotional trailer or launch a playable crowdfunding campaign. Video Games Chronicle likewise described the agreement as covering internal teasers through vertical-slice demos prepared before publisher pitches.

Who qualifies under the 30% funding rule?

The central financial test applies when recording takes place: the prospective game cannot have more than 30% of its initial production funding at that time. An unfinished game is not automatically eligible merely because it still needs additional money.

The agreement also contains producer-status exclusions. Its stated limits include publisher-owned producers, producers with standing publishing deals and producers with other funding affiliations. Applicants must confirm the relevant project and producer circumstances when seeking to use the agreement.

SAG-AFTRA’s announcement says waivers may be available, but the cited materials do not explain how individual waiver requests will be assessed. A developer outside the stated requirements should therefore contact the union rather than assume that a private pitch will qualify.

Are minimum rates required for pitch sessions?

The agreement says pitch-project session fees are freely negotiable between the performer and producer. Its performer acknowledgment also says the agreement does not set minimum terms and conditions. It should not be presented as a standard minimum-rate contract for early game development.

A performer considering a pitch session should agree with the producer on the fee, the material to be recorded and its permitted use. Those points are particularly important because the agreement limits the initial work to private materials intended to solicit production funding.

Health and retirement contributions are not triggered in every possible pitch engagement. Under the agreement, the contribution requirement applies when a session fee has been negotiated and paid.

The practical trade-off is that developers gain a formal route to hire performers at a very early funding stage, while performers do not receive a guaranteed minimum pitch-session fee from this agreement. The actual compensation depends on what the parties negotiate.

What happens if pitch material appears in the completed game?

The agreement addresses the possibility that work recorded for a pitch will later be carried into the completed project. If performer material from the pitch is used in the completed prospective game, the applicable Independent Interactive Media Agreement terms take effect, including minimum session fees, secondary payments and the appropriate health-and-retirement requirements.

Developers and performers should consequently keep a clear record of what was created for the pitch and how it may be used. Material recorded for a private vertical slice can acquire different payment and contractual consequences if it is incorporated into the completed game.

How this differs from the 2025 game contract

The pre-funding agreement is separate from the main interactive-media deal ratified in 2025, which ended SAG-AFTRA’s 11-month video game strike. That earlier deal included pay increases, artificial-intelligence protections and provisions concerning control over performers’ likenesses, according to The Associated Press.

For more background, read TheDashDouble’s coverage of SAG-AFTRA’s 2025 video game strike settlement. The new framework does not replace that main contract; it establishes a separate path for a limited pre-financing use case.

A practical checklist for developers and performers

Before arranging a session, a developer should verify that the game has no more than 30% of its initial production funding at the time of recording; that the material will be used solely to seek production funding; that it will not be made publicly viewable or playable; that the pitch is not for crowdfunding or milestone funding; and that the producer does not fall within one of the agreement’s exclusions.

Performers should understand that session fees are negotiable at this stage and establish the agreed compensation and use in advance. If their recorded material is eventually included in the completed game, the additional Independent Interactive Media Agreement provisions described in the pre-funding agreement apply.

SAG-AFTRA says the framework is intended to help developers produce stronger pitches. Professional performance may make some pitch materials more polished, but the union’s announcement does not identify participating projects or report completed financing outcomes. Whether the agreement improves a game’s chances of securing funding therefore remains unproven.