California lawmakers explore ways to preserve access to online games

California lawmakers are considering the Protect Our Games Act, a bill aimed at preventing online games from becoming unusable when support ends.

The proposal would require publishers to warn players before shutting down services and either issue refunds or provide a patch to preserve access.

It would apply only to games released on or after January 1, 2027.

Supporters say the bill could establish a major consumer-rights and game-preservation precedent for digital games that rely on servers.