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> the act would not apply to completely free games and games offered “solely for the duration of [a] subscription. Any other game offered for sale in California
by thayne 5mo ago
> the act would not apply to completely free games and games offered “solely for the duration of [a] subscription. Any other game offered for sale in California on or
Well, I predict we'll start seeing more games offered "solely for the duration of a subscription". And also games spun out into their own subsidiary that will just go bankrupt and not comply.
- tyleo 5mo agoSubsidiary is what I was thinking too. Imagine you were just some indie dev freelancing and all of a sudden you have a big shutdown bill.
- vasachi 5mo agoYou wouldn’t get one if you followed the law and released the server.
- LightHugger 5mo agothe idea of a "shutdown bill" is absurd and irrelevant to the law being discussed unless you are a scammer being forced to refund people.
- tyleo 5mo agoI’m not sure what you mean. If you shut down a game and a law demands extra work to stand up a F2P server, who pays for that work? That’s the “shutdown bill” I’m talking about.
- account42 5mo agoYes, the law encourages you to act responsibly from the start. This is like a chemical plant complaining that they have to pay for cleanup when they shut down because they didn't follow proper procedures to prevent environmental harm while operating.
- tyleo 5mo agoSo an indie dev just trying to make a multiplayer game with no budget and no graceful shutdown plan may be acting irresponsibly? Is the world really better if those people face additional burden? Does it create a fairer system that helps indies succeed? Does it encourage creativity?
- pavlus 5mo agoIf it's a subsidiary - they can't capitalize on the big name in marketing. If it's a subscription - they don't get the "buy now, play never" customers from Steam. I think it will be a win regardless.