California Bill Boosts Stop Killing Games Movement for Video Game Preservation
The Stop Killing Games movement has hit a significant milestone with the recent passage of a bill in the California State Assembly aimed at protecting video games from being taken offline. This bill, known as AB-1921 or the Protect Our Games Act, passed with a vote of 43-16. Chris Ward, a member of the California State Assembly, shared the news in a video on the Stop Killing Games YouTube channel, highlighting the bill’s strong support from Democrats and a couple of Republican votes.
This is a big win for gamers and the Stop Killing Games initiative, which has been tirelessly advocating for the preservation of video games. Ward noted, “Now it’s headed to the state senate where we’ll debate it further in June.” The inspiration for this bill came from a San Diego resident frustrated with games being yanked offline shortly after purchase. If you’re a gamer in California, this is a chance to reach out to your state senator and express why this matters to you—it’s all about consumer protection and ensuring you can enjoy your games to the fullest.
The crux of AB-1921 is that game developers will need to give a 60-day notice before shutting down online support for games that depend on servers. They’ll also have to either offer a way for players to continue accessing their games or provide refunds. This could mean options like community servers or offline gameplay modes.
The Stop Killing Games movement, initiated by YouTuber Ross Scott in April 2024, arose after Ubisoft announced it would take its popular game, The Crew, offline, leaving players in the lurch. The movement aims to ensure that both good and bad games remain accessible in an industry increasingly leaning toward restricting player access. Games like Concord, Anthem, and Highguard serve as recent examples of this concerning trend.
On a broader scale, the European Citizens’ initiative for game preservation has garnered significant attention, collecting 1.3 million signatures by January this year. Politicians there are actively debating the initiative’s objectives and are expected to provide feedback soon.
As Chris Ward mentioned, there’s still much to be done before the Stop Killing Games movement can fully achieve its mission of keeping games available after a publisher decides to pull the plug. Meanwhile, in other news, Sony plans to delist the PlayStation 5 game Destruction AllStars, and 2K has announced it will also be shutting down online features for Lego 2K Drive.