[STEAM] Stop Killing Games Gains Momentum After Bill Passes California State Assembly Vote

[Steam 0]

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The

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movement has reached yet another major milestone after a bill protecting games from being pulled offline passed a California State Assembly vote.

As announced in

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posted by California State Assembly Member Chris Ward on the Stop Killing Games

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channel, bill AB-1921, also known as the Protect Our Games Act, has officially passed with a vote of 43-16. A campaign volunteer shared the news in

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, confirming that

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with "strong Democratic support and two Republican yes votes," with opposing votes

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with one Democrat and 15 Republican votes.

It marks an important moment for Stop Killing Games, which has backed the bill as part of its ongoing fight for video game preservation.

"It's over in the state senate now, and we're going to be able to debate that in committee in the month of June," Ward said. "The idea came to be from a constituent in San Diego who is tired of seeing their game shut down after recent purchases. So, if you live in California, be sure to contact your state senator and tell them as a gamer or developer why you care and this matters to you. We're fighting for your consumer protection and making sure that you have a full right and enjoyment to these games."

As detailed by Stop Killing Games, the bill AB-1921 would require game companies to provide 60 days' notice before shutting down support for server-dependent games and then either offer a method for owners to play affected games afterwards or provide refunds. The former could be achieved through community servers or offline access of some kind.

These ideas are nothing new for Stop Killing Games. YouTuber Ross Scott

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in April 2024 in the wake of the news that Ubisoft would

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, The Crew, offline, leaving owners without access. The goal of the movement is to keep games, good and bad, alive in an industry that has signaled a trend toward keeping players from accessing experiences. Recent examples include

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,

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, and

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.

Stop Killing Games' European Citizens' initiative

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back in July 2025 and went on to

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in January of this year. European politicians debated its goals for game preservation earlier this month and

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in the coming weeks.

As explained by Ward, there is much work to be done before Stop Killing Games achieves its goal to keep games running after a publisher tries to pull the plug. Meanwhile, Sony recently

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it would delist and shut down PlayStation 5 title Destruction AllStars. Publisher 2K

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it would delist and shut down online functionality for Lego 2K Drive a few weeks ago.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and

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(@MikeCripe).

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