Games can no longer be killed. A breakthrough law
The California State Assembly has voted in favor of the "Protect Our Games Act" (AB 1921). This is a historic step in the fight against the widespread practice of killing online games and a major victory for consumer rights.
End of impunity for shutting down servers
The law directly targets companies that after a few years turn off servers, completely preventing players from accessing purchased products. Under the new regulations, publishers will have to announce service shutdowns at least 60 days in advance.
Most importantly, the law includes a requirement that saves games from oblivion: developers must release an update enabling offline play (or on private servers) or provide players with a full refund. This means the end of an era in which a corporation can take away access to a paid title overnight.
Industry protests
The vote in the California legislature is a major blow to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) – a powerful organization representing industry giants such as Microsoft, Sony, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and Epic Games. The ESA strongly opposed the bill, lobbying against its adoption.
According to its representatives, the law would hurt developers by forcing them to waste financial resources and time on modifying the infrastructure of old, unprofitable titles instead of focusing on creating new games. Despite immense pressure and attempts to block the initiative, consumer protection law triumphed over corporate interests.
This law does not forbid companies from shutting down servers. It forbids them from leaving players with nothing after they have paid the full price for a product.
This change will also affect Poles
The "Stop Killing Games" movement gained huge attention after the controversial decision by Ubisoft to shut down the servers of The Crew, completely removing it from buyers' libraries. However, the legislative victory in California has a global reach. Since this state is one of the largest technology markets in the world and home to many powerful studios, its law often becomes an informal standard for the entire entertainment industry.
To avoid legal issues, game developers will likely start designing new titles with an offline mode for every market.
Sources: Eurogamer, own elaboration
