California’s Protect Our Games Act advances through committee, requiring publishers to offer offline-playable patches or refunds when shutting down online game servers.
Key Takeaways
The bill passed California Assembly Privacy/Consumer Protection and Judiciary committees; still needs full Assembly and Senate majority before Newsom can sign.
Publishers must provide an “independent” play patch or issue refunds at end-of-life, targeting live service game shutdowns.
ESA counters that consumers hold licenses, not ownership, and that perpetual playability mandates could force impossible IP and music license renegotiations.
Time-limited third-party licenses for music and IP are the sharpest technical blocker: publishers may legally be unable to redistribute modified builds.
Stop Killing Games movement backs the bill; UK parliamentary momentum on game preservation has stalled since November 2025.
