this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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233
Bill to block publishers from killing online games advances in California (arstechnica.com)
submitted 23 hours ago by Gnergy@piefed.europe.pub to c/games@lemmy.world
19 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Publishers would have to offer "independent" play patch or refunds after server shutdowns.

top 19 comments
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[–] Mordikan@kbin.earth 7 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

The subscription model exemption is interesting. Blizzard could shut down WoW and that would be it (I know private servers exist - I'm talking in terms of their responsibility). I wonder if that would push more publishers into subscription models to bypass the law if it passes. Like ARC Raiders could be $1 a month and then when they kill it, they kill it without legal objection.

To be fair, the ESA does raise a good point about licensed music, though. That's like GTA4. A lot of the music was removed on PC because of license expiration and people were mad, but they can't legally keep it in the game if it's expired.

Will be interesting to see how all the chips land in the SKG movement.

[–] RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 4 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

They can't legally keep it in the game if the license expired but these clauses should be retroactively altered such that this clause only applies to games that continue to be sold. Units that have already been sold previously should not receieve updates to remove the music just because the license is expired. Instead, if the game is no longer being sold by the publisher/developer, even if they choose to make updates to the game available, music removal should not be mandatory. The set amount of units are already sold. Whether the game is updated or supported beyond the music expiry license should not be part of the license agreement, and should be only based on whether it continues to be sold or not.

[–] november@piefed.blahaj.zone 29 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Consumers receive a license to access and use a game, not an unrestricted ownership interest in the underlying work,” the ESA wrote.

We know. That's the problem.

Hurray for the POG Act, it's very pog.

[–] Katana314@lemmy.world 19 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Feels like many times I’ve heard in my life:

“We’d like to change this law.”
“You can’t change this law. See, it’s written here: It’s the law.”
“I’m…not contesting what it is. I’m saying I want to change it. We set it in place, we can make changes to it.”
“…But that’d be…against the law…”

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 8 points 18 hours ago

That logic works just fine if you have all the money and lawyers.

[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 27 points 23 hours ago

Something for Newsome to veto.

[–] Stupendous@lemmy.world 7 points 18 hours ago

Should go back to the days of having good self hosted servers and a server browser. Can still have matchmaking and even peer to peer multiplayer, but we should be able to self host servers and build communities for games we play

[–] iamthetot@piefed.ca 9 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Great to hear and generally support this move. I wonder if Jan 1st 2027 is a little too soon though?

The licensing argument never made sense to me. Wouldn't that impact sales of the game, not people who already own it being able to play?

[–] chameleon@fedia.io 8 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

Funny thing is this particular bill also applies semi-retroactively. The original version was worded

The following shall apply only for server-connected games published for sale on or after January 1, 2027

but in the April 6 revision that ultimately advanced, that was changed to:

The following shall apply only to a digital game available for purchase on or after January 1, 2027

I'm heavily in favor of SKG, but this particular bill isn't workable on this schedule. It's not what SKG has been petitioning for.

[–] RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 3 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Should change it to apply to any and all games published after the bill is passed.

Realistically, its a big ask for publishers to retroactively apply to their older games, but I do think they should still legally be required to do so for old games they don't sell anymore. Its not realistic to ask that though, so it is understandable that it wouldn't be included.

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

crying onto a wad of money I c-can't believe sniff they want me to pay developers sniff after the release date. It's not fair, IT'S JUST NOT FAIR! THINK OF THE C-SUITES!! PLEASE! WE CAN ONLY AFFORD 14 NEW ROLLS ROYCE VEHICES THIS YEAR! THEY MIGHT LOSE THE NEW-CAR SMELL WHILE THEY STILL OWN IT!

[–] iamthetot@piefed.ca 2 points 19 hours ago

I don't think it's unreasonable to say that if a game is available for sale, it should be in a reasonably playable condition. So if a company wants to continue selling their game beyond 2027, they should begin making end-of-life plans or face penalties. I think that's the goal here.

It's important to remember that this bill isn't trying to enforce endless support, rather that game companies end support in a responsible way that doesn't essentially brick the game.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 6 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Not being able to sell in California is a huge loss though. I agree January 1st is a little too soon, but better to have a little bit of pain now to make things better later.

[–] iamthetot@piefed.ca 1 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Is your first sentence responding to my second paragraph? If so, I'm not sure I understand.

The opposing stance to this makes the argument that licensing makes this law not feasible. But if a company's license runs out, they can't sell the game anyway, in California or otherwise, regardless of if this law passes. So what does it even have to do with the idea that companies should leave a game in a responsibly playable state? Which is what the core of Stop Killing Games wants.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 4 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

No, I was commenting on just the first paragraph. January 2027 is too soon for any game that's currently in development to be reasonably expected to pivot by then, and the same goes for any game that's already available and expects to have a long tail on its sales, so it's sort of like lighting the fuse on a bomb. The licensing argument is stupid nonsense, and they know it.

[–] Khanzarate@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago (2 children)

What pivoting?

It changes the plans of shuttering a server, not offering a new one. Any such independent play patch soils only be released when a company is ready to end servers.

A new game previously intended to be released December 31st of this year, caught off guard with just one day of warning, could still release without changing a thing. The game will have servers for years to come, presumably.

[–] a_wild_mimic_appears@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 8 hours ago

It actually requires a pivot, because if you want to account for making a game playable at end-of-life, you normally have to plan that from the start, to make sure the game is structured in a way that allows for easy switching. If all you plan is actually to turn off the servers, well, that's the current situation.

Making sure the game ends gracefully means either releasing dedicated server binaries, implementing P2P (or Splitscreen) multiplayer or disabling multiplayer, and repurposing/rebalancing previously online content to work in the new setting. That's not easy to do if you never wasted a thought on those things in development, especially with a skeleton crew of developers which have been working on other stuff for years at this point.

Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to see this legislation come into effect, but even I have to acknowledge that a game that has been worked on for years at this point is probably not designed for this.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 4 points 21 hours ago

Highgaurd didn't even last a month, and they definitely didn't have the funds left over to make that game self hostable while they were in their death throes, even if they wanted to.

[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 2 points 19 hours ago

Thanks, Pirate Software.