Legislation to Preserve Access to Games After Shutdown Advances in First Vote
The Stop Killing Games movement is gaining momentum in the U.S., with the California Assembly recently passing the Protect Our Games Act by a bipartisan vote of 43-16. Having cleared the legislative branch, the bill is set to head to the State Senate for committee discussions in June.
According to the movement’s YouTube channel, the legislation aims to require video game companies to notify players in advance before shutting down server-dependent games and to provide options for keeping purchased games playable afterward, such as offline access or community servers. Importantly, this would only apply to purchased games, meaning free-to-play titles would not be affected. If enacted, the law would apply only to games released after January 2027.
Assembly member Chris Ward from San Diego shared the news, emphasizing that the bill is about consumer protection and ensuring players can fully enjoy their games. He encouraged Californians to contact their State Senator, while those outside the state can reach out to the Chair of the Senate Privacy Committee to show their support.
The Stop Killing Games (SKG) movement, led by YouTuber Ross Scott, focuses on preserving online-only live-service games, ensuring they remain playable in some form after their servers are shut down. This could involve enabling community-run servers or offline modes. The SKG website states, “Publishers are permanently destroying the video games you’ve paid for. An increasing number of games are sold as goods but designed to be completely unplayable for everyone as soon as support ends. We are demanding legislation to end this practice.” The campaign began in 2024 after Ubisoft shut down the servers for the always-online racing game The Crew, sparking legislative discussions in the U.K. and EU.
In recent years, there has been a rise in live-service games that launch only to have their servers shut down shortly after, making them unplayable. A notorious example is Sony’s Concord, an online-only multiplayer game that was taken offline just 14 days post-launch. While Sony offered full refunds, they threatened legal action against modders who created community servers. Other short-lived online games include Ubisoft’s XDefiant, the fantasy-themed multiplayer shooter Highguard, the PUBG spin-off Blindspot, and Quantic Dream’s Spellcasters Chronicles. With even Destiny 2 winding down, it’s clear that supporting live-service games has never been more challenging. If the Stop Killing Games initiative continues to gain traction, it could mean these games won’t be lost forever when publishers decide to shut them down.
