Brazil Files Stop Killing Games Bill the US and EU Refused

When the European Commission said it couldn't force publishers to keep games playable, and California's Protect Our Games Act died in a Senate committee on June 29, the Stop Killing Games movement looked like it had run out of legislative runway. Then Brazil stepped in.

Brazilian federal deputy Jandira Feghali announced on July 9 that she had filed Bill PL 3612/2026, legislation she described as directly inspired by Stop Killing Games. In a translated post on X, Feghali wrote:

For the rights of gamers! Inspired by the 'Stop Killing Games' movement, I have just filed Bill PL 3612/2026. Millions of people around the world have mobilized to fight for the right to keep playing the games they bought and remain connected to the communities they built.

Feghali said the bill was filed alongside fellow lawmaker Márcio Filho. According to the bill's documentation, it addresses consumer protection for buyers of electronic games, preservation of Brazilian digital cultural heritage, and obligations for publishers when essential online services are discontinued. It would amend both Brazil's Consumer Defense Code and its legal framework for the electronic games industry.

Beyond Stop Killing Games

Feghali isn't the only Brazilian lawmaker making noise about digital ownership. Federal deputy Erika Hilton has separately requested an investigation into Sony over its announcement that it will cease new physical game disc production in 2028. Hilton argues the move restricts resale, lending, and preservation rights, and fails to account for players with poor internet access, potentially breaching Brazil's Consumer Protection Code. That investigation adds a second front to what's becoming a broader push in Brazil around digital consumer rights in gaming.

None of this is guaranteed to become law. Feghali is a veteran politician from the Communist Party of Brazil, part of the incumbent left-wing coalition, which gives her enough political weight to get the bill onto committee agendas. But it still needs to clear several standing committees, pass a full vote in the Chamber of Deputies, survive the Senate, and land on the president's desk. The games industry will lobby against it at every stage. The Entertainment Software Association already helped kill California's AB 1921, and publishers will almost certainly push back on provisions like mandatory reimbursement and handing over server tools.

But Brazil has stronger consumer protection infrastructure than most countries, and a compromised version of this bill is more plausible than anything the EU or US has managed. The 180-day notice requirement and minimum two-year support window are the provisions most likely to survive. Even a watered-down version that officially sanctions community-run servers after a shutdown would be a meaningful win for preservation.

The Stop Killing Games movement started after Ubisoft shut down The Crew in 2024, making the online-only racing game completely unplayable for everyone who had paid for it. Since then, the campaign has grown into a global push over digital ownership and end-of-life obligations for live-service games. The EU's refusal to act was especially controversial because it followed a private meeting with Ubisoft, and California's bill was blocked after direct opposition from the ESA. Both failures made it look like the movement had hit a wall in the regions with the most legislative power. Brazil filing its own bill doesn't erase those losses, but it proves the campaign can find traction outside the markets where publishers have the deepest lobbying budgets. If even one country passes enforceable preservation law, it changes the calculus for every global publisher shipping a game with a kill switch.