New California law inspired by Ubisoft and Sony requires retailers to warn consumers that the digital games they buy can be taken away at any time

A new California law set to come into effect in 2025 will make it illegal for sellers to use terms like «buy» or «purchase» in relation to digital goods—movies, books, and of course videogames—unless they provide a «clear and conspicuous» warning to consumers that those goods could be taken away from them at any time.

The law, AB 2426, essentially expands upon existing laws against false advertising by restricting the use of any terms «which a reasonable person would understand to confer an unrestricted ownership.» To ensure people understand that digital ownership isn't really ownership, sellers will need to either receive «an affirmative acknowledgment from the purchaser» at the time of transaction, or—and this is obviously the more practical approach—put a warning, «in a manner that clearly calls attention to the language,» on relevant products.

Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, the sponsor of the bill, told Game File she was initially prompted to take action by Sony's planned removal of Discovery content from the PlayStation store because of expiring licenses. Not only would the shows no longer be available for purchase, but those who had already purchased them would lose access. Sony eventually reversed the decision, but the damage was done: Irwin introduced the bill in February.

Two months later, Ubisoft helped convince her it was the right move when it started revoking licenses for the racing game The Crew. Sales of The Crew had already been halted in December 2023, but the game—including its singleplayer portion—was dependent on remote servers, and those went offline in April. That rendered the game unplayable even for those who already owned it, but Ubisoft apparently wanted to be sure nobody whipped up a DIY option to get the game running again.

«Ubisoft's actions with The Crew further highlighted just how widespread this issue is,» Irwin said.

The text of the new law is dense and dull, as these things tend to be, but the bottom line is that vendors in