California Bill Could Require Game Publishers to Keep Games Playable

A bill that could require game publishers to offer a way to access online games after they are no longer actively supported is making its way to a floor vote in the California State Assembly, the first step on its way to becoming law, Ars Technica reports.

The bill, which was introduced as the "Protect Our Games Act," is particularly notable because Stop Killing Games, a games preservation group pushing for similar protections in the EU and UK, advised on its creation.

If made law in its current incarnation, the Protect Our Games Act would require game publishers or "digital game operators" to warn players at least 60 days in advance of when "services necessary for the ordinary use of the digital game will cease," and either offer a refund of the full purchase price of the game, a software patch that would make the game playable or a version of the game that works "independent of services controlled by the operator."

The law wouldn't apply to free games or games that are only accessible via a subscription. It also would only apply to titles released on or after January 1, 2027.

Engadget has contacted the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the industry group that represents game publishers, to comment on the proposed law. We'll update this article if we hear back.

The bill addresses a core issue of modern game ownership: no one truly owns their games, and they especially don't own them when they rely on server support from a publisher. Live service games might be sold as a one-time purchase, but they need an internet connection and server infrastructure to function as designed. Once a developer or publisher wants to stop maintaining that infrastructure, the game is effectively dead, and in the case of Ubisoft's open-world racing game The Crew, delisted from stores and removed from players' game libraries.

Responding to the deletion of The Crew was part of the reason Stop Killing Games was created in the first place.

Assemblymember Chris Ward introduced the Protect Our Games Act to the California Assembly in February 2026. The bill has now made it through the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee, Judiciary Committee and Appropriations Committee as of May 14, which means the Assembly can take up it for a full vote.

Stop Killing Games shared that it advised on the bill via a Reddit post in March, and the group appears to be happy with its progress. "Back shortly before Christmas, when I flew to the US to help set up SKG-US, I didn't expect us to get this far this quickly," Moritz Katzner, Stop Killing Games' General Director, European Affairs, said in a separate post.