Video games as a whole have evolved greatly from the earliest days of computers and hardware. The biggest example of this isn’t how they look or how they play but how you can get them. Originally, you couldn’t play a video game without a disc or cartridge that had everything stored on it. This was how things were for decades until the advent and growth of the internet changed things forever. Digital gaming is now a thriving market that many publishers and developers bank on for big sales both upon launching a game and over time. However, a certain controversy within that area has led to California lawmakers cracking down on the industry.
Specifically, there has been an issue over the last several years that certain publishers and developers are removing digital video games from various stores and not allowing people to get them or play them, even if they have already paid for them. The question of “ownership” has been brought up a lot due to this, and as noted by The Verge, California Governor Gavin Newsom has literally laid down the law in his state with a new mandate. This mandate demands that stores ensure that customers know they aren’t truly “buying” a game but merely “licensing it” from the store in question:
“As retailers continue to pivot away from selling physical media, the need for consumer protections on the purchase of digital media has become increasingly more important,” California Assembly member Jacqui Irwin noted in a statement about the new law. “I thank the Governor for signing AB 2426, ensuring the false and deceptive advertising from sellers of digital media incorrectly telling consumers they own their purchases becomes a thing of the past.”
This may seem like an “odd law” for governors and assembly members to focus on, especially given the OTHER problems in the United States, but it’s true that many gamers have been struck by this “loophole in ownership” on many fronts, including companies like Ubisoft removing games and their online features from stores despite numerous gamers having bought the titles and sunk tons of time and money into the online portions.
The game Multiversus also did this after its beta phase. Despite gamers buying packs and other microtransactions that let them access specific content, Player First Games shut down the entire game, outside of the practice mode, for several months until the “full version” of the game was released.
Only time will tell if other states adopt laws like this.
