The Stop Killing Games initiative, advocating for the preservation of digital games and the protection of consumer rights, has achieved new success. In California, the Protect Our Games Act (AB 1921) was approved by the lower house of the state parliament — the document received 43 votes “for” and 16 “against”.
The bill provides for mandatory notification of players at least 60 days before the termination of online game support. Publishers will also have to provide an offline mode, support for custom servers, or refund buyers.
The idea for the law belongs to a San Diego resident who faced a situation where recently purchased games became useless after server shutdowns. The initiative was quickly supported by the Stop Killing Games movement, created in 2024 after Ubisoft shut down the servers for The Crew.
In April, movement leaders Ross Scott and Moritz Katzner presented their proposals to the European Parliament, where they received a positive response. In February, the creation of non-profit organizations in the EU and the US was also announced for the long-term protection of player rights.
Now the bill faces a vote in the California Senate. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) opposes it, with representatives believing that the new requirements will force developers to spend resources on supporting outdated systems instead of creating new technologies and games.