Brazil is moving to address consumer rights in the digital age, with federal deputy Jandira Feghali proposing a new bill aimed at digital games ownership and preservation. The legislative effort, which follows recent industry shifts including Sony’s move away from physical discs, seeks to prevent games from becoming completely inaccessible once official online support ends.
Quick Facts
- Publishers must clearly label games that rely on online servers at the point of sale.
- A minimum support period of two years from the Brazilian launch date is required.
- Service termination must be communicated to players 180 days in advance via in-game notifications and official channels.
- Companies must provide offline updates, community tools, or proportional reimbursements for shut-down titles.
The proposed legislation shares significant common ground with the international Stop Killing Games initiative, which has been pushing for similar consumer protections throughout Europe. By mandating that companies provide a path forward for software after server closure, the bill aims to curb the practice of games simply vanishing from a user's library once a publisher decides to pull the plug.
Enforcement and Consumer Protections
Under the terms of the bill, failure to adhere to these new regulations would result in fines for publishers. The legislation requires that companies offer one of three specific solutions when an online service is set to expire: updating the software to function offline, releasing necessary tools to the community to maintain private servers, or issuing proportional refunds based on the player's time spent with the title.
The bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process and still needs to make its way through the government to become law. As the industry continues to move toward a digital-only distribution model, this move by Brazilian lawmakers highlights the growing friction between traditional consumer ownership expectations and modern service-based software delivery.