Gaming
Pennsylvania Bill Would Force Game Publishers to Warn Before Server Shutdowns
Buying a game should mean keeping it. That simple idea is getting legal teeth in Pennsylvania, where State Senator John Kane has announced the Protect Our Games Act. The proposal would require publishers to warn players at least 60 days before ending support for a purchased digital game, and then offer offline play, a patch for independent servers, or a refund.
Kane spelled out the plan in a Senate memo. If a company plans to stop supporting a digital game or change it in a way that blocks access, buyers must get advance notice. After that the publisher must pick at least one of three options. Players keep playing offline. The company ships a patch that lets the game run online without its official servers. Or it pays a refund worth the highest price the digital version sold for in the 12 months before shutdown, with a floor of 25 percent of the original cost.
The exemptions stay narrow. Subscription services that only grant access for the length of the subscription, some free games, and games delivered as permanent downloads that never need servers would fall outside the rules. Kane named publishers like Ubisoft that shut down game servers, and pointed to Sony with its plan to stop producing physical discs by 2028 as a sign of where the industry is heading. He also noted that Grand Theft Auto VI will ship without a physical disc, with the case carrying only a code.
The Pennsylvania push lands inside a national and global wave. The Stop Killing Games movement began after Ubisoft shut down The Crew, an always online racer that became unplayable even in solo play, and later gathered roughly 1.3 million signatures on a European citizens initiative demanding digital consumer protections. In California the parallel Protect Our Games Act, Assembly Bill 1921, passed the Assembly 43 to 16 in May 2026 and cleared a Senate committee 6 to 2 in June, with industry trade group the ESA fighting it at every step.
For anyone with a digital library, this is the ownership question moving from forums into law. A 60 day warning and a real fallback option would turn every shutdown from a surprise loss into a planned transition, and that is a better deal for buyers and honest publishers alike. Whether Kane's bill becomes law or not, publishers are on notice that players are organizing, voting, and keeping receipts.
Quick answers
What is this story about?
Buying a game should mean keeping it. That simple idea is getting legal teeth in Pennsylvania, where State Senator John Kane has announced the Protect Our Games Act. The proposal would require publishers to warn players at least 60 days before ending support for a purchased digital game, and then offer offline play, a patch for independent servers, or a refund.
Why does this story matter?
For anyone with a digital library, this is the ownership question moving from forums into law. A 60 day warning and a real fallback option would turn every shutdown from a surprise loss into a planned transition, and that is a better deal for buyers and honest publishers alike. Whether Kane's bill becomes law or not, publishers are on notice that players are organizing, voting, and keeping receipts.
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