Overview
- The California State Assembly passed AB 1921 on Sunday by a 43–16 vote, sending the Protect Our Games Act to the State Senate for further debate and votes.
- Under the bill publishers must give 60 days' notice before shutting servers and must either supply an offline or patched version, enable community‑server access, or offer full refunds for purchased games sold or resold after January 1, 2027.
- Major industry groups such as the Entertainment Software Association and Video Games Europe have opposed the measure, saying mandated patches or long‑term support could raise costs, clash with licensed third‑party content, and create security risks.
- The Stop Killing Games campaign, born after Ubisoft shut down The Crew, has leveraged the Assembly win to press the case in Europe and launch NGOs aimed at securing end‑of‑life protections for games.
- The bill now requires Senate approval and, if enacted, could shift publisher strategies and consumer risk by encouraging more free‑to‑play releases to avoid the rules while creating new enforcement roles for California prosecutors.