Another Country Seeks to Require Publishers to Preserve Digital Games After Server Closures

Ubisoft has literally united the global gaming community in the fight for their rights.

Mexico could become another country where lawmakers are trying to strengthen the rights of digital game buyers. Senator and Digital Rights Commission Chairman Luis Donaldo Colosio Riojas, along with Deputy Irais Reyes, introduced an initiative proposing to change the rules for selling digital goods and establish additional consumer guarantees. The bill was published in the parliamentary system on September 2 and is currently under review by the relevant Senate committees.

One of the main ideas of the initiative is to force sellers to explain clearly and in advance exactly what the buyer is receiving. Before payment, the company must indicate the legal category of the digital purchase, state whether it is full digital ownership or a license for use, and explain the terms of possible termination or revocation of access. In addition, the buyer must be warned if the product requires a constant internet connection to function and what will happen after technical support is permanently discontinued.

For digital products sold under perpetual licenses that require server connectivity, the bill proposes introducing a so-called “right to functional preservation.” If a company permanently shuts down the necessary servers, it will be required, as far as technically possible and permitted by third-party rights, to provide tools or patches allowing users to continue launching the product locally.

If the initiative is adopted, simply shutting down servers would not be enough if the buyer completely loses access to an already purchased game as a result.

The authors of the bill also provide for exceptions, stating that the obligation should not apply where preservation is impossible for technical reasons or would violate third-party intellectual property rights.

The initiative also addresses the liability of digital stores toward Mexican consumers. According to Mexican media, the authors propose requiring foreign digital platforms selling goods in the country to have a Mexican address or legal representative through whom local authorities can file claims in the event of consumer rights violations.

The bill proposes treating terms of use and license agreements for digital goods as adhesion contracts, and views the mass and unilateral revocation of access to purchased digital goods without mechanisms for preservation, compensation, or refunds as a serious violation.

For Colosio Riojas and Reyes, this is not the first step in the dispute surrounding the gaming industry’s transition to a digital model. In August, they filed a complaint with the Mexican antitrust authority against Sony Interactive Entertainment regarding the company’s plans to phase out physical PlayStation game production by 2028. According to the lawmakers, this transition could reduce the options available to consumers and increase dependence on Sony’s digital store.