Stop Killing Games bill passes first vote in California

2 hours ago 1

Published Jun 1, 2026, 10:24 AM EDT

After making headway in the U.K. and EU, the Stop Killing Games movement is gaining ground in the U.S.

The promotional art for Concord features three sci-fi heroes.

The Stop Killing Games movement is finally starting to gain traction in the United States. The California Assembly recently passed the Protect Our Games Act by a bipartisan vote of 43-16. With the bill having passed in California’s legislative branch (the state equivalent of Congress), it will move to the State Senate for a committee debate in June.

The Stop Killing Games movement’s YouTube page offered the following description of what the legislation would mean: “The bill would require video game companies to give players advance notice before shutting down server-dependent games and provide a way to keep purchased games playable afterward, such as offline access, community servers, or another workable option.” It should be noted that this would only apply to purchased games, meaning free-to-play titles seemingly wouldn’t fall under the legislation. If it were to pass, it would only apply to games released after January 2027.

Assembly member Chris Ward from San Diego announced the news, explaining that the bill is “fighting for your consumer protection and full right and enjoyment of these games.” He urged those in California to reach out to their State Senator. Those outside California can contact the Chair of the Senate Privacy Committee and express their support for the legislation.

The Stop Killing Games (SKG) movement is a game preservation initiative spearheaded by YouTuber Ross Scott that aims to ensure that online-only live-service games remain playable in some form after their servers are shut down. This could mean enabling community-run servers to keep the game alive or enabling an offline mode. “Publishers are permanently destroying the video games you’ve paid for,” the SKG website reads. “An increasing number of games are sold as goods, but designed to be completely unplayable for everyone as soon as support ends. We are demanding legislation to end this practice.” The campaign began in 2024 after Ubisoft shut down the servers for the always-online racing game The Crew and has since led to legislative debates in the U.K. and EU.

In recent years, we’ve seen an uptick in live-service games that launch, only to have their servers shut down shortly after, rendering them completely unplayable. The most infamous example is Sony’s uber flop Concord, an online-only multiplayer game that was shut down just 14 days after launch. Sony offered full refunds, but threatened legal action against modders who managed to jury-rig community servers. Other notable examples of short-lived online games include Ubisoft’s “Call of Duty killer” XDefiant, the fantasy-tinged multiplayer shooter Highguard, the PUBG spin-off Blindspot, and Quantic Dream’s Spellcasters Chronicles. With even Destiny 2 winding down, it’s clear that it’s never been a tougher time to release and support a live service game. If the Stop Killing Games initiative continues to gain momentum, hopefully that will mean these games aren’t lost forever when their publisher decides to pull the plug.