UVW-CWA ENDORSES CALIFORNIA AB1921

UNITED VIDEOGAME WORKERS-CWA hereby announces our support for California State Assembly Bill 1921, put forth by Assembly Member Chris Ward of the 78th District.

Building on the momentum of the Stop Killing Games movement, AB1921 would impose new requirements around end-of-life for games with centrally-hosted online services. Our union is proud to have been directly involved in discussions with Assemblyman Ward’s staff on this bill, and we believe its passage would serve our members’ interests.

AB1921 would impose the following requirements on publishers:

End of Life Notice. Any game that requires centrally hosted online services to make use of gameplay features, for which the publisher intends to end those services, must release an End of Life Notice to all current and prospective customers at least 60 days in advance. This notice must include the date services will end, which services, what features will be affected, related security risks, and info on how the game will be replaced, patched, or refunded.

No selling dead games. Once a publisher’s services go offline, the publisher can no longer sell, lease, or otherwise distribute any version of the game that requires them in order to function.

Replace, patch, or refund. On the day services end, customers must be made whole in one of three ways: 1) An alternate version of the game that doesn’t require the publisher’s online services to operate. 2) A patch that updates the game to accomplish the same thing. 3) A full refund for the purchase price. (Save your receipts, folks!)

A publisher caught violating these terms would open themselves to civil prosecution on behalf of the people of California by the State Attorney General or any district attorney.

In an April 16th Assembly Meeting, industry executives—via their lobbying arm, the ESA—voiced their objections to the bill. They say it’s too hard, too expensive, and argue that players aren’t entitled to be made whole for the loss of a product they technically don’t even own, but have merely paid to use.

Here is UVW’s response to these objections: Tough shit.

For too long, our industry’s so-called leaders have made their worm-brained addiction to short-term thinking everyone else’s problem. If a game succeeds, rich executives take the W. If it fails, workers and players take the L.

No more.

Under this bill, executives must plan for ALL branches on the flow-chart—including the Bad Ending—when hiring, fundraising, and shaping development timelines. They can comply with the law the lazy way (a rainy-day fund for end-of-life refunds) or the hard way (hiring a few more network engineers to work on player-hosted server functionality). But they MUST do one.

UVW believes this bill is good for players, workers, the industry at large, and the cultural preservation of this medium we all love. Our members are experienced industry professionals who are tired of their hard work disappearing into the void through lack of foresight, and believe that this measure will serve to encourage more sustainable business practices.

We encourage all Californian gamers to call their reps and demand passage of AB1921, and gamers elsewhere to demand similar legislation. 

For gamers looking to join the fight for a more sustainable and consumer-friendly game industry, check out The Players Alliance and consider getting involved.

If you’re a games worker and would like to support AB1921, please fill out our survey to share your thoughts and sign onto a public petition of support.

If you’re a games worker ready to fight for a better future, join United Videogame Workers today.