【AI前沿】Bill to block publishers from killing online games advances in California

Slow boring of hard boardsBill to block publishers from killing online games advances in CaliforniaPublishers would have to offer “independent” play patch or refunds after server shutdowns.Kyle Orland–May 15, 2026 12:35 pm|102Your controller won’t literally disintegrate when an online game’s servers shut down, but it can feel that way sometimes.Credit:

      Stop Killing GamesYour controller won't literally disintegrate when an online game's servers shut down, but it can feel that way sometimes.Credit:

      Stop Killing GamesText
    settingsStory textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth*StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers onlyLearn moreMinimize to navA bill focused on maintaining long-term playable access to online games has passed out of the California Assembly’s appropriations committee, setting up a floor vote by the full legislative body. The advancement is a major win forStop Killing Games‘ grassroots game preservation movement and comes over the objections of industry lobbyists at theEntertainment Software Association.California’sProtect Our Games Act, as currently written, would require digital game publishers who cut off support for an online game to either provide a full refund to players or offer an updated version of the game “that enables its continued use independent of services controlled by the operator.” The act would also require publishers to notify players 60 days before the cessation of “services necessary for the ordinary use of the digital game.”As currently amended, the act would not apply to completely free games and games offered “solely for the duration of [a] subscription. Any other game offered for sale in California on or after January 1, 2027, would be subject to the law if it passes.Battle of the interest groupsThis week’s 11–2 committee vote to advance the Protect Our Games Act isbeing trumpetedbyStop Killing Games(SKG), the UK-based player advocacy group that was formed after the 2024 shutdown of Ubisoft’sThe Crew. SKGwrote last monththat it “advised on the drafting” of the bill before it wasfirst introduced by Assemblyman Chris Wardearlier this year.“Back shortly before Christmas, when I flew to the US to help set up SKG-US, I didn’t expect us to get this far this quickly,” SKG’s Monitz Katznerwrote on Redditafter the committee vote. “It has been an honor to take part in drafting this bill on behalf of the SKG community: gamers, developers, and publishers alike.”In a formal statement of support for the bill sent to the California legislature, SKG wrote that “there is no other medium in which a product can be marketed and sold to a consumer and then ripped away without notice… As live service games rise in popularity for game developers and gamers alike, end-of-life procedures are essential tools to ensure prolonged access to the games consumers pay to enjoy.”The Entertainment Software Association, which helps represent the interests of major game publishers, publicly told the California Assembly last month that the bill misrepresents how modern game distribution actually works. “Consumers receive a license to access and use a game, not an unrestricted ownership interest in the underlying work,” the ESA wrote. The eventual shutdown of outdated or obsolete games is “a natural feature of modern software,” the group added, especially when that software requires online infrastructure maintenance.The ESA also said the bill would impose unreasonable expectations on publishers regarding licensing rights for music or IP rights, which are often negotiated on a time-limited basis. “A legal requirement to keep games playable indefinitely could place publishers in an impossible position—forcing them to renegotiate licenses indefinitely or alter games in ways that may not be legally or technically feasible,” they wrote.Last month, the Protect Our Games Act also received positive votes from the California Assembly’s Privacy and Consumer Protection and Judiciary committees. But the bill still faces significant hurdles in getting majority passage in the full California Assembly and the California Senate before being sent to California Governor Gavin Newsom for signature.Still, the current legislative progress in California has to be heartening for the Stop Killing Games movement, which has seen its momentum in the UK stall a bitafter a UK Parliament debate on game preservation last November.Kyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle OrlandSenior Gaming EditorKyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He oncewrote a whole book aboutMinesweeper.102 Comments