A groundbreaking law has been enacted in California that mandates digital game platforms, such as Steam and Epic, to explicitly inform players about the nature of their game purchases—whether they truly own the games or merely possess a license to use them.
Law in California Has Been Passed to Let Players Know If Game Purchases Also Mean Ownership
Takes Effect Next Year
In a significant move to enhance consumer protection, California's Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2426 into law, aiming to clarify the often misunderstood nature of digital purchases. This legislation applies not only to video games but to any digital application associated with them. The law defines a "game" as "any application or game that a person accesses and manipulates using a specialized electronic gaming device, computer, mobile device, tablet, or other device with a display screen, including any add-ons or additional content for that application or game."
Under this new law, digital storefronts are required to use clear and conspicuous language to inform consumers about the nature of their transactions. This includes using "larger type than the surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks."
Violators of this law could face civil penalties or misdemeanor charges, as outlined in the legislation: "Existing law makes a person who violates specified false advertising provisions liable for a civil penalty, as specified, and provides that a person who violates those false advertising provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor."
The law also prohibits sellers from advertising or selling digital products in a manner that suggests "unrestricted ownership." The legislators emphasized the importance of this regulation, stating, "As we move toward an increasingly digital-only marketplace, it is crucial that consumers clearly know and understand the nature of their transactions. This includes the reality that they may not have genuine ownership of their purchase. Unless the digital good has been offered for download so it can be viewed without a connection to the internet, the seller can remove access from the consumer at any point in time."
Set to take effect next year, the law will also prevent online stores from using misleading terms such as "buy" or "purchase" unless it is clearly explained that these do not imply unrestricted ownership or access to the product.
California Assembly member Jacqui Irwin highlighted the significance of this law, stating, "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. 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."
Provisions on Subscription-Based Services Still Murky
Recent actions by gaming companies like Sony and Ubisoft, who have taken games offline, have sparked debates within the gaming community about consumer rights. For instance, Ubisoft's decision to delist and shut down the racing game series The Crew, citing "licensing constraints," left players without access to a game they had paid for.
However, the new law does not address subscription-based services like Game Pass or rental models, nor does it specify rules for offline copies of games, leaving these areas ambiguous.
In January, Ubisoft executive Philippe Tremblay commented on the evolving nature of game ownership, saying, "One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That's the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That's a transformation that's been a bit slower to happen [in games]. As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don't lose your progress. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there. That's not been deleted. You don't lose what you've built in the game or your engagement with the game. So it's about feeling comfortable with not owning your game."
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin further elaborated on the intent behind the new law, stating, "When a consumer purchases an online digital good like a movie or TV show, they receive the ability to view the media at their leisure. Oftentimes, the consumer believes that their purchase has given them permanent ownership of that digital good, similar to how the purchase of a movie on a DVD or a paperback book provides access in perpetuity. In reality though, the consumer has only purchased a license, which, according to the seller's terms and conditions, the seller can revoke at any point."
