California game preservation bill advances, would force shutdown warnings and refunds

California lawmakers have pushed the Protect Our Games Act one step closer to becoming law, and for players who have watched paid games vanish behind a server wall, the stakes are brutally concrete. Under AB 1921, publishers and other digital game operators would have to warn players at least 60 days before shutting down services needed for ordinary use, then choose one of three remedies: a full refund, a patch that keeps the game playable, or a version that works without company-controlled servers.

The bill cleared another hurdle on May 14, when it advanced from the California Assembly Appropriations Committee by an 11-2 vote and headed toward an Assembly floor vote. Assemblymember Chris Ward introduced AB 1921 on February 12, 2026, then amended it on April 6 before it moved through the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection on April 16 and later Judiciary and Appropriations. That path matters because it shows the measure surviving repeated scrutiny rather than just making a splashy debut.

The politics around the bill are already mapping the broader preservation fight. California’s legislative analysis says the Stop Killing Games movement emerged in 2024 after Ubisoft shut down The Crew, and the group has been campaigning in Europe and the United Kingdom for stronger rules around online-game longevity. Stop Killing Games and Consumer Reports back AB 1921. The Entertainment Software Association opposes it, arguing that many games rely on evolving technology, licensed content, and online systems that change over time, and warning that the bill could force developers to spend limited time and resources keeping old systems alive instead of building new games and features.

The Ubisoft shutdown is the kind of case the bill is aimed at. The company said The Crew would remain playable until March 31, 2024, then shut down the servers and delisted the game from online stores, making it inaccessible on all platforms. For players, that is the core wound: a purchase that turns into a loss the moment the company pulls the plug.

AB 1921 would not rewrite every digital game dispute. It applies only to server-connected digital games published for sale on or after January 1, 2027, and it does not cover free-to-play games or subscription-only access. That makes it a forward-looking consumer rule, not a retroactive fix. Even so, California moving first could give publishers a reason to build preservation plans into new releases from the start, or risk turning shutdowns from quiet disappearances into regulated exits.