Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, has signed law AB 2426, which will force digital storefronts to be upfront about them buying a license to a piece of media, rather than actually owning it. This law will come into effect next year and will ban digital storefronts from using words like “buy” and “purchase.” [Thanks, The Verge!]
As a reminder, this is only for digital storefronts that offer a license. If you can buy something that’s permanently available, even offline, then it will still show “Purchase.” This law is to combat “disappearing” purchases of digital content. Aside from games, this includes movies, music, and ebooks. Considering that physical disc drives are becoming rarer, thus forcing people to purchase digital content, a law protecting consumer rights and money may be what other countries and states need to put into practice.
According to The Verge, this law is in response to game companies like PlayStation and Ubisoft. In the past, gaming companies have shown that they can remove games from people’s accounts and libraries at a whim. This includes demos as well, such as when Sony took away access to the Stellar Blade demo back in March 2024. That was for something people didn’t even have to pay for. Meanwhile, in April 2024, Ubisoft removed The Crew from people’s libraries after it shut down the game’s servers.
From next year, digital storefronts in California cannot use “Purchase” or “Buy” when selling media that won’t let the player permanently keep it, even offline.
Published: Sep 26, 2024 08:00 pm