California passes Protect Our Games Act, advancing Stop Killing Games push

California has pushed Stop Killing Games one step closer to law, and for players who have watched paid games vanish when servers go dark, AB 1921 could change the rules of the shutdown entirely. The Assembly passed the Protect Our Games Act 43-16, putting new pressure on publishers that sell server-connected games and then pull the plug with little warning.

The bill is aimed at the reality of modern live-service and online-only games, not at pretending every release can be preserved forever. Under the amended language, operators would have to give purchasers and prospective purchasers 60 days’ notice before services necessary for ordinary use end. After that, they would have to provide an alternate version, a patch or update, or a refund, subject to the bill’s rules and exceptions. AB 1921 would also bar the sale, lease, or other distribution of a version that cannot be used independently of publisher-controlled services, which goes directly at the revocable-license feel that has defined too many digital purchases.

The measure applies to server-connected games first sold or rereleased on or after January 1, 2027, making its reach forward-looking rather than retroactive. It also gives enforcement teeth, authorizing the California Attorney General or a district attorney to bring civil actions for violations. For players, that means the fight over game preservation would no longer live only in petitions, Reddit threads, and community outrage after a shutdown announcement. It would sit inside consumer-rights law.

Assemblymember Christopher M. Ward, who represents California Assembly District 78 and chairs the Assembly Arts, Entertainment, Sports, and Tourism Committee, authored the bill. AB 1921 moved through the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection on April 16, 2026, then the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 21, before Digital Democracy listed it as in progress and ordered to third reading on May 19, 2026. The committee analysis said Stop Killing Games and Consumer Reports backed the bill, while the Entertainment Software Association opposed it.

The industry split is already clear. Supporters argue that buyers should not lose access to games they paid for without meaningful notice or an end-of-life option. The committee analysis says always-online games have caused “consternation and feelings of betrayal” when access is revoked. The ESA has warned that the proposal could raise costs and hurt innovation.

California’s vote also lands inside a larger international push. The European Citizens’ Initiative Stop Destroying Videogames was registered by the European Commission in June 2024, later cleared 1,294,188 validated statements of support, and was formally submitted on January 26, 2026. With the Assembly’s 43-16 vote, the preservation fight now has a concrete win in one of the biggest game markets in the United States, but the next test is still ahead in the California Senate.