Elevator Pitch

• California’s Protect Our Games Act is advancing in the legislature, aiming to ensure online games remain playable (or refundable) when publishers shut down required services.

Key Takeaways

• The bill would require publishers ending support for an online game to provide either a full refund or an updated version that works without operator-controlled services, plus 60 days’ notice.
• It would apply to most paid games sold in California on or after January 1, 2027, excluding completely free games and games offered solely for the duration of a subscription.
• The measure is backed by Stop Killing Games but opposed by the ESA, which argues it misunderstands software licensing and could create impractical legal/licensing burdens.

Most Memorable Quotes

• “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.’”
• “there is no other medium in which a product can be marketed and sold to a consumer and then ripped away without notice…”
• “Consumers receive a license to access and use a game, not an unrestricted ownership interest in the underlying work,”