Bill to keep online games playable clears key hurdle in California

SKG supported a California bill requiring protections for game preservation, stating that products cannot be marketed and sold and then removed without notice. The bill’s goal is to ensure prolonged access to games consumers pay to enjoy. The Entertainment Software Association opposed the bill, arguing that consumers receive a license to access and use a game rather than unrestricted ownership. The ESA said shutdowns of outdated software are a natural feature of modern software, particularly when online infrastructure must be maintained. The ESA also warned that indefinite play requirements could force publishers to renegotiate music and intellectual property licenses repeatedly or make changes that may be legally or technically infeasible. The bill advanced through California Assembly committees but still needs majority approval in both legislative chambers before reaching the governor.

"“there is no other medium in which a product can be marketed and sold to a consumer and then ripped away without notice... As live service games rise in popularity for game developers and gamers alike, end-of-life procedures are essential tools to ensure prolonged access to the games consumers pay to enjoy.”"

"“Consumers receive a license to access and use a game, not an unrestricted ownership interest in the underlying work,” the ESA wrote. The eventual shutdown of outdated or obsolete games is “a natural feature of modern software,” the group added, especially when that software requires online infrastructure maintenance."

"“A legal requirement to keep games playable indefinitely could place publishers in an impossible position-forcing them to renegotiate licenses indefinitely or alter games in ways that may not be legally or technically feasible,” they wrote."

"Last month, the Protect Our Games Act also received positive votes from the California Assembly's Privacy and Consumer Protection and Judiciary committees. But the bill still faces significant hurdles in getting majority passage in the full California Assembly and the California Senate before being sent to California Governor Gavin Newsom for signature."

Read at Ars Technica