Louis: new page on the entertainment software association, the video game industry's trade and lobbying group: history, members, leadership, and its record on game preservation, dmca exemptions, loot boxes, and ab 1921

2026-06-30T07:19:15Z

new page on the entertainment software association, the video game industry's trade and lobbying group: history, members, leadership, and its record on game preservation, dmca exemptions, loot boxes, and ab 1921

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{{#seo:
|description=The Entertainment Software Association is the US video game industry's trade and lobbying group, opposing game-preservation laws, DMCA exemptions, and loot-box rules.
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{{CompanyCargo
|Founded=1994
|Industry=Trade association, Lobbying
|Logo=
|ParentCompany=
|Type=Non-Profit
|CompanyAlias=ESA, Interactive Digital Software Association, IDSA
|Website=https://www.theesa.com/
|Description=Video game industry trade and lobbying group; opposed laws to keep purchased games playable and DMCA exemptions for game preservation
}}

'''Entertainment Software Association''' (ESA) is the trade association representing the United States video game industry.<ref name="agi" /> The group has opposed game-preservation exemptions to the [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]] (DMCA) sought by libraries & museums,<ref name="gamedev2024" /> & it pointed to the industry's voluntary ratings & odds-disclosure measures when the [[Federal Trade Commission]] examined loot boxes in 2019.<ref name="lootstatement" /><ref name="giloot" /> In 2026 the ESA opposed California's [[Protect Our Games Act]] (AB 1921),<ref name="oped" /> a [[Stop Killing Games]] bill that would require publishers to provide an offline version, a final patch, or a refund once a digital game's online services end.<ref name="leginfo" />

== Background ==

The ESA was founded in 1994<ref name="about" /> as the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), the main trade group for the video game industry.<ref name="cnet2003" /> That year the IDSA created the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), a self-regulatory body that assigns age & content ratings to video games.<ref name="esrb" /> On July 21, 2003, the IDSA announced it had changed its name to the Entertainment Software Association, saying the new name more clearly described the organization's scope.<ref name="cnet2003" />

The ESA is based in Washington, D.C.<ref name="fec" /> It states its mission on its website:
<blockquote>''Our mission is to help expand and protect the innovative and creative marketplace for the video game industry here in the United States.''</blockquote><ref name="about" />

The ESA also ran the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the video game industry's annual trade show, until it announced the end of the long-running event on December 12, 2023.<ref name="e3end" />

== Membership ==

The ESA represents video game publishers rather than selling products of its own, & its membership is documented through its initiatives & legislative filings. In March 2025 the ESA launched the Accessible Games Initiative at the Game Developers Conference with five founding member companies: [[Electronic Arts]], [[Google]], [[Microsoft]], [[Nintendo]] of America, & [[Ubisoft]].<ref name="agi" /> The initiative, which standardizes accessibility tags for digital storefronts, is managed by the ESA as the trade association representing the U.S. video game industry.<ref name="agi" />

== Leadership ==

Stan Pierre-Louis is the ESA's president & chief executive officer; he authored the organization's June 2026 op-ed opposing AB 1921.<ref name="oped" />

Jennifer Gibbons is the ESA's vice president of state government affairs, a role she took on after joining the organization in 2024.<ref name="gibbonsbio" /> She previously served as senior vice president of government affairs at the Toy Association & held senior staff roles in the California State Assembly, including chief of staff & communications director.<ref name="gibbonsbio" />

== First Amendment litigation ==

The ESA has also litigated on behalf of its members over the First Amendment status of video games. In ''Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association'' (2011), a case in which the ESA was a named party, the U.S. Supreme Court held that video games are protected speech, affording them the same First Amendment protection as other forms of artistic expression.<ref name="firstam" /> The Court's ruling stated:
<blockquote>''Like the protected books, plays, and movies that preceded them, video games communicate ideas ... through many familiar literary devices (such as characters, dialogue, plot, and music) and through features distinctive to the medium ...''</blockquote><ref name="firstam" />

== Incidents ==

=== Opposition to the Protect Our Games Act ===
{{Main|Entertainment Software Association testimony on AB 1921}}

The ESA opposed California's [[Protect Our Games Act]] (AB 1921),<ref name="oped" /> part of the [[Stop Killing Games]] campaign for laws that keep purchased games playable after their online services end. The bill passed the State Assembly 43 to 16 on May 27, 2026,<ref name="leginfovotes" /> before failing passage in the Senate Business, Professions & Economic Development Committee on June 29, 2026 by a vote of 4 to 3, with reconsideration granted.<ref name="leginfovotes" /> AB 1921 would apply to digital games first sold or rereleased on or after January 1, 2028, & exempts subscription services & games offered for free.<ref name="leginfo" />

In a June 9, 2026 op-ed published in the Sacramento Bee & on the ESA website, ESA president Stan Pierre-Louis argued that the bill misunderstands how online games are built:
<blockquote>''Under Assembly Bill 1921, the Protect Our Games Act, when a game publisher decides to shut down a 'server-connected' digital game, developers would be forced to choose between keeping it running indefinitely, rebuilding the game to work without technical support or providing a full refund to everyone ...''</blockquote><ref name="oped" />

California's Digital Democracy database records that the ESA sent lobbyist Timothy Lynch to testify against the bill before the Assembly Judiciary Committee on April 21, 2026.<ref name="digidem" /> At the June 29, 2026 Senate committee hearing, ESA vice president of state government affairs Jennifer Gibbons appeared as the lead opposition witness, telling the committee the measure raised a question of ''consumer satisfaction, not consumer protection.''<ref name="hearing" />

=== DMCA Section 1201 game-preservation exemptions ===

Every three years the U.S. Copyright Office weighs exemptions to the DMCA's anti-circumvention rules, & the ESA has repeatedly opposed exemptions that would let libraries & museums preserve out-of-print online games.<ref name="gamedev2024" /> In its opposition to an exemption request from the Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment (MADE), the ESA said it supported preserving video games only under ''circumstances that do not jeopardize game companies' rights under copyright law.''<ref name="made" />

During the 2024 rulemaking, the Video Game History Foundation sought an exemption to allow remote access to out-of-print games held by libraries.<ref name="gamedev2024" /> The ESA opposed the request, saying a ''substantial market'' still exists for classic games. It wrote:
<blockquote>''Enabling widespread remote access to preserved games with minimal supervision would present a serious risk to an important market.''</blockquote><ref name="gamedev2024" />
The U.S. Copyright Office rejected the exemption in late October 2024, with its Register of Copyrights finding that the petitioners had not met their burden for the exemption.<ref name="gamedev2024" />

=== Loot boxes and the 2019 FTC workshop ===

On August 7, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission held a public workshop titled Inside the Game: Unlocking the Consumer Issues Surrounding Loot Boxes, examining randomized in-game purchases & their similarities to gambling.<ref name="giloot" /> Ahead of the workshop, the ESA issued a statement emphasizing the industry's existing safeguards:
<blockquote>''The Federal Trade Commission previously recognized that the video game industry excels in partnering with caregivers and consumers by providing reliable video game ratings and comprehensive information. The industry also provides robust parental controls that ensure parents maintain control over in-game spending.''</blockquote><ref name="lootstatement" />

At the workshop, ESA chief counsel of tech policy Michael Warnecke announced commitments from Nintendo, [[Sony]], & Microsoft to disclose loot-box odds for new games by the end of 2020, & a number of ESA member publishers made a similar pledge for their own titles.<ref name="giloot" />

=== E3 2019 registrant data leak ===

In August 2019, a flaw on the ESA's E3 registration website exposed a publicly downloadable spreadsheet containing the names, addresses, & phone numbers of more than 2,000 journalists, content creators, & industry professionals who had registered for E3 2019.<ref name="leak" /> The ESA said a ''website vulnerability'' had made the contact list public & that it took steps to secure the data once notified.<ref name="leak" />

== Lobbying ==

The ESA is one of the video game industry's principal lobbying organizations at the federal & state levels. The Center for Responsive Politics recorded almost $5.5 million in ESA federal lobbying spending in 2013.<ref name="marketplace" /> The association's federal political action committee, the ESA PAC (Federal Election Commission committee ID C00439216), registered as a trade-association PAC on October 1, 2007.<ref name="fec" />

In California, the ESA's lobbyists have testified against AB 1921 & on other bills involving digital games & consumer privacy.<ref name="digidem" />

== See also ==

* [[Right to Repair]]
* [[Planned obsolescence]]

== References ==

<references>
<ref name="agi">{{Cite web |title=Entertainment Software Association Introduces the Accessible Games Initiative to Provide Players with Information About Accessibility Features in Video Games |url=https://www.theesa.com/entertainment-software-association-introduces-the-accessible-games-initiative-to-provide-players-with-information-about-accessibility-features-in-video-games/ |website=Entertainment Software Association |date=2025-03-20 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="about">{{Cite web |title=About ESA |url=https://www.theesa.com/about-esa/ |website=Entertainment Software Association |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="cnet2003">{{Cite web |title=Game group changes name |author=David Becker |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/game-group-changes-name/ |website=CNET |date=2003-07-21 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="esrb">{{Cite web |title=About ESRB |url=https://www.esrb.org/about/ |website=Entertainment Software Rating Board |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="fec">{{Cite web |title=Entertainment Software Association PAC (ESA PAC) committee overview |url=https://www.fec.gov/data/committee/C00439216/ |website=Federal Election Commission |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="e3end">{{Cite web |title=E3 officially abandoned by the ESA |author=Marie Dealessandri |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/e3-officially-abandoned-by-the-esa |website=GamesIndustry.biz |date=2023-12-12 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="gibbonsbio">{{Cite web |title=Jennifer Gibbons |url=https://www.theesa.com/staff/jennifer-gibbons/ |website=Entertainment Software Association |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="firstam">{{Cite web |title=First Amendment |url=https://www.theesa.com/issues/first-amendment/ |website=Entertainment Software Association |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="oped">{{Cite web |title=Opinion: Misguided California bill would harm video game makers, players |author=Stan Pierre-Louis |url=https://www.theesa.com/opinion-misguided-california-bill-would-harm-video-game-makers-players/ |website=Entertainment Software Association |date=2026-06-09 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="leginfo">{{Cite web |title=AB-1921 Digital games: ordinary use |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1921 |website=California Legislative Information |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="leginfovotes">{{Cite web |title=AB-1921 Votes |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1921 |website=California Legislative Information |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="hearing">{{Cite web |title=Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee, June 29, 2026 |url=https://www.senate.ca.gov/media/senate-business-professions-and-economic-development-committee-20260629 |website=California State Senate |date=2026-06-29 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="digidem">{{Cite web |title=Entertainment Software Association |url=https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/organizations/-5075 |website=Digital Democracy, CalMatters |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="made">{{Cite web |title=DMCA Section 1201 Rulemaking: ESA Opposition to MADE's Exemption Request |url=https://www.theesa.com/dmca-section-1201-rulemaking-esa-opposition-to-mades-exemption-request/ |website=Entertainment Software Association |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="gamedev2024">{{Cite web |title=U.S. Copyright Office rejects DMCA exemption to support game preservation |author=Justin Carter |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/u-s-copyright-office-rejects-dmca-exemption-to-support-game-preservation |website=Game Developer |date=2024-10-25 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="lootstatement">{{Cite web |title=Entertainment Software Association Statement in Response to the Announced Federal Trade Commission Public Workshop on Loot Boxes |url=https://www.theesa.com/entertainment-software-association-statement-in-response-to-the-announced-federal-trade-commission-public-workshop-on-loot-boxes/ |website=Entertainment Software Association |date=2019-04-09 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="giloot">{{Cite web |title=What did the FTC hear in its loot box workshop? |author=Brendan Sinclair |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/what-did-the-ftc-hear-in-its-loot-box-workshop |website=GamesIndustry.biz |date=2019-08-07 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="leak">{{Cite web |title=E3 organizer leaks personal info of over 2,000 media and content creators |author=Andy Chalk |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/e3-organizer-leaks-personal-info-of-over-2000-media-and-content-creators/ |website=PC Gamer |date=2019-08-05 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
<ref name="marketplace">{{Cite web |title=Video game lobby answers 'call of duty' on the Hill |author=Nancy Marshall-Genzer |url=https://www.marketplace.org/story/2014/07/30/video-game-lobby-answers-call-duty-hill |website=Marketplace |date=2014-07-30 |access-date=2026-06-30}}</ref>
</references>

[[Category:Entertainment Software Association]]
[[Category:Trade associations]]
[[Category:Lobbying organizations]]
[[Category:Video games]]

Entertainment Software Association - Revision history

Louis: new page on the entertainment software association, the video game industry's trade and lobbying group: history, members, leadership, and its record on game preservation, dmca exemptions, loot boxes, and ab 1921