Luật Bảo vệ Trò chơi của California thành công trong việc vượt qua: Nhà phát hành phải "hoàn tiền đầy đủ" hoặc giữ lại "phiên bản độc lập ngoại tuyến" trước khi ngừng dịch vụ

California “Protect Our Games Act” (AB 1921) was approved by the appropriations committee with a vote of 11 to 2, just one step away from full legislative approval. The bill mandates game publishers to provide full refunds before discontinuing services or to release an independently operable offline version, applicable to all paid games launched in California after January 1, 2027.
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Table of Contents

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• Core of the bill: Refund or offline version, choose one
• Scope of application: Paid games only, excluding subscription models
• Behind the push: Stop Killing Games
• ESA: Cost pressures may harm developers

California’s legislature is rewriting the rules for the lifecycle of digital games. The “Protect Our Games Act” (AB 1921) passed the California Assembly Appropriations Committee in mid-May with 11 to 2 votes, marking an important milestone after passing the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee and the Judiciary Committee.

The bill will next be sent for a full legislative vote, and if approved, it will become law.

Core of the bill: Refund or offline version, choose one

Under the current version, the bill sets two options for “discontinuing online game services” by publishers:

• Provide a full refund to players who purchased the game
• Offer an independently operable update version, meaning an offline or community version that can continue to be played without relying on publisher servers

Additionally, publishers must notify players 60 days in advance before stopping “services necessary for normal game use.”

Scope of application: Paid games only, excluding subscription models

The bill includes two exemptions:

• Completely free games are not covered
• Games offered “only during the subscription period” are also exempt

If the bill passes smoothly, the timeline is: Starting January 1, 2027, all paid games launched in California must comply.

Behind the push: Stop Killing Games

One of the behind-the-scenes advocates of the bill is the UK player advocacy organization Stop Killing Games (SKG). The organization was established after Ubisoft announced the closure of the online racing game “The Crew” in 2024, aiming to prevent situations where players buy games only to be unable to play due to server shutdowns.

SKG leader Monitz Katzner wrote on Reddit: “Just before Christmas, when I flew to the US to help prepare SKG-US, I never imagined we could get this far so quickly.”

The bill was initially proposed by California Assemblymember Chris Ward, and SKG stated they had “assisted in drafting” the bill.

ESA: Cost pressures may harm developers

However, the lobbying organization representing major game publishers, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), explicitly opposes the bill.

ESA warns that if laws force publishers to release offline versions, the related development and maintenance costs could impose heavy burdens on small and medium-sized game developers, potentially affecting overall industry investment willingness.

However, advocates counter that products purchased with real money by players should not “disappear into thin air” just because publishers decide to shut down servers. The design logic of the bill is similar to general consumer protection laws: purchased products must be usable.

Currently, the bill is in the full legislative vote stage. If California leads in legislation, it could set a precedent for consumer protection of digital products in other states and across the US.