{"id":1964652,"date":"2026-05-31T07:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1964652"},"modified":"2026-05-31T07:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T04:25:00","slug":"stop-killing-games-consumer-protection-bill-passes-floor-vote-in-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1964652","title":{"rendered":"Stop Killing Games consumer protection bill passes floor vote in California"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-crew\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      The Crew<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Stop Killing Games consumer protection bill passes floor vote in California<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;Big update for game preservation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Screenshot-2025-07-19-at-16.31.10.png?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Stop Killing Games x The Crew\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Screenshot-2025-07-19-at-16.31.10.png\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"319\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Ubisoft \/ Stop Killing Games \/ Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1533038852.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1533038852.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/vikki-blake\">Vikki Blake<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-05-31T07:25:00+00:00\">May 31, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/stop-killing-games-passes-floor-vote-california?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          2 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"48ea953d-74a8-415a-9d32-c8069d04ea52\" data-name=\"The Crew\" data-follow-text=\"Follow The Crew\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following The Crew\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow The Crew\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following The Crew\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow The Crew\" title=\"Follow The Crew\"><br \/>\n  Follow The Crew<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The California State Assembly has passed the Protect Our Games Act, a bill centred on protecting consumer rights as detailed by the Stop Killing Games movement.<\/p>\n<p>The &#8216;AB 1921&#8217; bill &#8211; which the organisation calls a &#8220;big update for game preservation&#8221; &#8211; passed the State Assembly floor vote by 43 to 16.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Stop Killing Games just passed a floor vote in California\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tw1UhbaqBwA?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/tw1UhbaqBwA\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Stop Killing Games just passed a floor vote in California<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Stop Killing Games just passed a floor vote in California.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tw1UhbaqBwA\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The games preservation movement was motivated by Ubisoft&#8217;s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ubisoft-delists-the-crew-with-servers-shutting-next-year\">shut down open-world racer The Crew&#8217;s servers last March<\/a>, preventing access to both its multiplayer and single-player content due to its always-online nature. More controversy followed shortly after, when the publisher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ubisoft-reportedly-revoking-the-crew-from-owners-libraries-following-server-shutdown\">began revoking customers&#8217; licenses to the game,<\/a> permanently removing it from their libraries and preventing hopes of resurrecting it through private servers.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stopkillinggames.com\/\">consumer-driven initiative<\/a> is now demanding game publishers leave their titles playable once support is terminated. The proposed <a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1921\">consumer protection law<\/a> would ensure either offline versions of games or refunds at end-of-service would be available. It&#8217;s caused some consternation across the industry, with EU trade body Video Games Europe &#8211; which represents the likes of Ubisoft, Take-Two, Warner Bros., Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, and Nintendo &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/as-stop-killing-games-momentum-continues-top-eu-politician-offers-support-a-game-once-sold-belongs-to-the-customer\">insisting the initiative&#8217;s proposals would make games &#8220;prohibitively expensive to create&#8221;.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The bill has now moved onto the California State Senate, where it&#8217;ll need wider public support to progress. If it moves into law, it will &#8220;require video game companies to give players advance notice before shutting down server-dependent games and provide a way to keep purchased games playable afterward, such as offline access, community servers, or another workable option&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Pushing back against the bill, the ESA &#8211; the organisation that used to host the E3 annual conference &#8211; previously said: &#8220;Many games depend on evolving technology, licensed content, and online systems that change over time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Assembly Bill 1921 could force developers to spend limited time and resources keeping old systems running instead of creating new games, features, and technology. In the end, this policy doesn&#8217;t reflect how games actually work today. This bill sets strict rules that could ultimately mean fewer new and innovative experiences for players.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Stop Killing Games movement said of the bill: &#8220;This is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/stop-killing-games-european-parliament\">the same fight as in Europe<\/a>: a grassroots consumer movement asking for basic end-of-life protections, versus the industry lobby trying to preserve the right to sell games that can later be rendered useless while preserving control.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The California State Assembly has passed the Protect Our Games Act, a bill centred on protecting consumer rights as detailed by the Stop Killing Games movement.<\/p>\n<p>The &#8216;AB 1921&#8217; bill &#8211; which the organisation calls a &#8220;big update for game preservation&#8221; &#8211; passed the State Assembly floor vote by 43 to 16.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Stop Killing Games just passed a floor vote in California\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tw1UhbaqBwA?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/tw1UhbaqBwA\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Stop Killing Games just passed a floor vote in California<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Stop Killing Games just passed a floor vote in California.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tw1UhbaqBwA\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The games preservation movement was motivated by Ubisoft&#8217;s decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ubisoft-delists-the-crew-with-servers-shutting-next-year\">shut down open-world racer The Crew&#8217;s servers last March<\/a>, preventing access to both its multiplayer and single-player content due to its always-online nature. More controversy followed shortly after, when the publisher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ubisoft-reportedly-revoking-the-crew-from-owners-libraries-following-server-shutdown\">began revoking customers&#8217; licenses to the game,<\/a> permanently removing it from their libraries and preventing hopes of resurrecting it through private servers.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stopkillinggames.com\/\">consumer-driven initiative<\/a> is now demanding game publishers leave their titles playable once support is terminated. The proposed <a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1921\">consumer protection law<\/a> would ensure either offline versions of games or refunds at end-of-service would be available. It&#8217;s caused some consternation across the industry, with EU trade body Video Games Europe &#8211; which represents the likes of Ubisoft, Take-Two, Warner Bros., Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, and Nintendo &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/as-stop-killing-games-momentum-continues-top-eu-politician-offers-support-a-game-once-sold-belongs-to-the-customer\">insisting the initiative&#8217;s proposals would make games &#8220;prohibitively expensive to create&#8221;.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The bill has now moved onto the California State Senate, where it&#8217;ll need wider public support to progress. If it moves into law, it will &#8220;require video game companies to give players advance notice before shutting down server-dependent games and provide a way to keep purchased games playable afterward, such as offline access, community servers, or another workable option&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Pushing back against the bill, the ESA &#8211; the organisation that used to host the E3 annual conference &#8211; previously said: &#8220;Many games depend on evolving technology, licensed content, and online systems that change over time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Assembly Bill 1921 could force developers to spend limited time and resources keeping old systems running instead of creating new games, features, and technology. In the end, this policy doesn&#8217;t reflect how games actually work today. This bill sets strict rules that could ultimately mean fewer new and innovative experiences for players.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Stop Killing Games movement said of the bill: &#8220;This is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/stop-killing-games-european-parliament\">the same fight as in Europe<\/a>: a grassroots consumer movement asking for basic end-of-life protections, versus the industry lobby trying to preserve the right to sell games that can later be rendered useless while preserving control.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News The Crew Stop Killing Games consumer protection bill passes floor vote in California &#8220;Big update for game preservation.&#8221; Image credit: Ubisoft \/ Stop Killing Games \/ Eurogamer News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on May 31, 2026 2 comments Follow The Crew The California State Assembly has passed the Protect Our Games Act, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1964652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1964652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1964652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1964652\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1964652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1964652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1964652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}