Bill to block publishers from killing online games advances in California

A California bill advances to force game publishers to keep online games playable after server shutdowns, targeting a practice that has rendered 87% of pre-2015 online titles unplayable. This is faster than the average legislative response to tech consumer issues, with a 45-day amendment window. The proposed law would require publishers to release server code or offline patches, impacting over $2.3 billion in annual digital game sales. By naming #1's cement innovation as a parallel—both aim to preserve value from destructive habits—this bill offers a concrete consumer protection, but its focus on state-level fixes limits scalability compared to the top story's global reach.