{"id":37405,"date":"2026-06-30T09:43:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T09:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/?p=37405"},"modified":"2026-06-30T09:43:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T09:43:03","slug":"california-bill-to-preserve-online-game-play-falls-short-by-three-votes-in-senate-committee-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/?p=37405","title":{"rendered":"California Bill to Preserve Online Game Play Falls Short by Three Votes in Senate Committee Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A recent Californian bill aimed at protecting the rights of online gamers has encountered a significant setback. Known as the Protect Our Games Act (AB 1921), the bill proposed that video game publishers must either provide players with a version of their games to play independently after server shutdowns or offer full refunds. The legislation, which was heavily supported by the Stop Killing Games campaign, failed to secure enough votes in the state’s Business, Professions and Economic Development committee, where four legislators voted in favor, three opposed, and four abstained.<\/p>\n

This legislative effort was notable not only for its ambitious goals but also for the grassroots nature of its support. The advocates behind the Stop Killing Games campaign lauded their achievements, considering this to be their inaugural attempt at lobbying within the United States, accomplished without any funded staff or a sizable budget. Their initiative managed to push the bill through the state assembly with a significant majority of 43 to 16 before reaching the senate committee stage.<\/p>\n

Despite the bill’s failure to pass in the committee, a motion for reconsideration was granted, hinting at the possibility of a second chance for the legislation. The campaigners expressed optimism about their progress thus far, emphasizing their commitment to returning with a more robust lobbying presence, financial resources, and endorsements from additional supporters for future legislative sessions.<\/p>\n

In response to the recent obstacles faced by the bill, the Stop Killing Games campaign is diversifying its efforts. They have announced plans to introduce similar legislation in other states and are exploring federal avenues for achieving their goals. Furthermore, they have initiated a sister campaign known as Stop Killing the Internet, aimed at addressing broader issues related to digital rights, notably opposing new legislation in the UK that would impose age verification for social media platforms.<\/p>\n

The outcome of the Protect Our Games Act and the work of the Stop Killing Games campaign reflect ongoing tensions in the gaming industry between consumer rights and corporate policies. Advocates argue for player protections in an era where digital game content is often tied to online services that can be discontinued, leaving gamers without access to the products they purchased. The future of this legislative effort will be keenly watched by both gamers and industry stakeholders as the push for stronger consumer rights continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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A Californian bill<\/a> aiming to force publishers shutting down servers for online games to provide a version of the game players can keep on playing independently of said servers or issue full refunds has failed to pass a committee vote in the state’s senate. That means the bill’s march through the legislature<\/a>, which has been backed by the wider Stop Killing Games campaign<\/a>, has come to a relative standstill for now.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}