The California Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 11-2 to advance AB 1921, the Protect Our Games Act, to the Assembly floor. The ESA’s campaign to kill the bill in committee didn’t work. Here’s what happened, what the bill actually requires, and what comes next.
AB 1921, backed by Stop Killing Games and authored by Assemblymember Chris Ward, would require companies selling server-connected games to give 60 days notice before shutting down, then either make the game playable without their servers or issue a full refund. It covers games sold on or after January 1, 2027. The Appropriations Committee, the financial gatekeeper in California’s legislative process, heard the ESA’s cost arguments and voted to advance the bill anyway. This is a follow-up to our earlier full breakdown.
A big issue could be technical debt.
It takes work to prepare something for “other eyes”
I’d hope for some effort from game devs that give a shit about keeping thier work alive. But for a “finished” game to go back and do the work could get tricky.
Yes you could just release docs and info but it’s not that easy sometimes.