A California bill designed to protect buyers of digital-only video games has failed to advance out of committee. The consumer advocacy group behind the proposal now accuses the gaming industry’s leading lobbying organization of making misleading arguments, including labeling private Minecraft servers as piracy.
Stop Killing Games, the consumer advocacy group created after The Crew was shut down, saw California’s AB 1921 fail to move forward in the state Senate after missing approval by three votes. The measure, called the Protect Our Games Act, would have required publishers of online-only games sold as one-time purchases to provide at least 60 days’ notice before ending server support, suspend sales during that period, and offer customers either an offline version or a full refund. Subscription and free-to-play games would have been exempt.
The Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee voted largely along party lines. Four Democrats supported the bill, while three Republicans voted against it. The remaining Democratic members abstained, preventing the measure from securing enough votes to move ahead.
Stop Killing Games attributed the bill’s failure to lobbying efforts by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), with particular criticism aimed at testimony from ESA representative Jennifer Gibbons. During the committee hearing, members discussed community-run servers as a way to preserve purchased games, using Minecraft and Call of Duty as examples. Gibbons argued against the proposal.
“Yes. In fact, we consider it piracy,” she said, referring to private servers. The ESA later confirmed to PC Gamer that it views such servers as infringing on intellectual property rights. However, the official Minecraft website itself hosts files to help players create private servers, an activity permitted under the game’s end-user license agreement.
Stop Killing Games accused industry lobbyists of repeatedly misleading lawmakers with inaccurate claims about how video game technology works. The group also disputed what it described as a false portrayal of its campaign, saying it has never sought to require publishers to keep official servers online forever. It likewise challenged the industry’s argument that expired content licenses make continued access impossible, pointing to games that still let existing owners play after those licenses have lapsed.
The loss in California follows another setback for Stop Killing Games in Europe just a few weeks ago. Nearly 1.3 million people signed a European Citizens’ Initiative calling for legislation similar to AB 1921, but the European Commission decided not to move forward with a new law. Instead, it plans to hold a non-binding discussion between publishers and consumer groups later this year after meeting privately with Ubisoft and other European game companies.
The campaign for stronger legal protections gained momentum in 2024 after Ubisoft shut down the servers for The Crew, leaving an estimated 12 million physical and digital copies unusable. The decision sparked lawsuits and led directly to the creation of Stop Killing Games. Ubisoft later faced additional criticism when one of its executives said consumers should “get used to not owning games,” although the company eventually introduced an offline mode for The Crew 2.
Stop Killing Games says its biggest challenge has been the industry’s far greater lobbying power and financial resources. Despite the recent setbacks, the group is pressing ahead and has begun recruiting developers and other gaming professionals to respond to technical claims made during legislative hearings. It also plans to pursue similar bills in other US states while exploring possible legal action in federal court. People interested in getting involved can apply through the group’s website.
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