Stop Killing Games' California bill falls three votes short in senate committee

The Protect Our Games Act — AB 1921, backed by the Stop Killing Games campaign — failed to clear a California senate committee vote on June 29th. The bill would have required publishers shutting down online game servers to either provide a playable offline or independent version of the game or issue full refunds to players.

Of the 11 members of the Business, Professions and Economic Development committee who voted, four supported the bill advancing, three voted against, and four abstained — leaving it short of the majority it needed. The bill isn't necessarily dead: the committee's motion granted reconsideration following the failure, meaning it gets at least one more shot at this stage.

The bill had already cleared the full California State Assembly 43 to 16 before hitting this wall, which Stop Killing Games describes as a significant achievement given the campaign ran entirely on volunteers, emails, and phone calls with no paid California staff and no lobbying budget. The Entertainment Software Association, the games industry's main trade body, mounted an in-person lobbying effort against the bill — something Stop Killing Games says made a real difference at the committee stage.

The campaign says it will return for the next legislative session with in-person lobbyists, proper funding, and a broader coalition of supporting organizations and developers. They're also planning to introduce similar bills in other states and are actively exploring action at the federal level. Separately, Stop Killing Games has launched a sister campaign focused on broader internet preservation issues.