A new law in California forces retailers to make it known that always online games could eventually be closed and canceled.
For Game filesthe law will take effect on January 1, 2025. It is part of a larger bill on consumer protection and false advertising signed into law earlier this week. Sellers of digital items will no longer be able to use the terms “buy” or “purchase” during the transaction.
“The seller provides the consumer before executing each transaction with a clear and conspicuous statement stating in plain language that 'buying' or 'acquiring' the digital good is a license,” the statement reads. law.
PlayStation, Valve, and Xbox have been specifically listed by Game File as companies that fall under this requirement. Other (unnamed) store operators include Nintendo, Ubisoft and EA, each with their own digital storefronts.
There are some games that are exempt from this law, namely free-to-play titles, those offered through a subscription service, and those that already have an offline mode (such as single-player).
California opposes forced obsolescence
In recent years, digital movies and shows have been pulled (often suddenly) from streaming services. From a gaming perspective, this mainly affected multiplayer titles which require online connections to be playable.
The time between when a game launches and when it is turned off may varybut it happened often enough that players started taking action. In August, public outcry was so strong that Ubisoft promised to create offline modes The crew 2 AND The Crew Motorfest.
Speaking to Game File, Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin (D-CA) said the bill is “motivated by consumers losing access to content.”
Irwin cited the case last year in which PlayStation removed access to Contents of the discovery that people have paid before. The issue was eventually fixed, but Ubisoft's cancellation was first The crew “further highlighted how widespread this problem is.”
His hope with the overall invoice and its transparency is to help customers realize that they are purchasing a license to a digital item rather than the media itself. It also hopes it will prompt companies to find solutions to keep their digital products for longer, including potentially cheaper rental or subscription options.
You can read Game File's full coverage of the law Here.