Ubisoft's shutdown of The Crew ignited a European movement to protect online games from similar fates. This article explores the "Stop Killing Games" petition and its fight to safeguard digital purchases.
European Gamers Unite to Save Online Games
One Million Signatures Needed for EU Law Proposal
A significant European gamer-led initiative is underway to protect digital game ownership. The "Stop Killing Games" petition urges the European Union to create legislation preventing publishers from making games unplayable after ending support.
Ross Scott, a key organizer, is confident of success, citing alignment with existing consumer protection policies. While the proposed law's reach is limited to Europe, Scott hopes its impact on this major market will inspire global change, either through legislation or industry self-regulation.
The challenge is significant. The petition must secure one million signatures across various European countries within a year to trigger a formal legislative proposal. Eligibility is simple: any European citizen of voting age (age varies by country) can participate.
Launched in early August, the petition boasts over 183,593 signatures. The ambitious goal remains a considerable distance, but the campaign has a full year to reach the necessary threshold.
Holding Publishers Accountable for Server Closures
Ubisoft's sudden termination of The Crew's online services in March 2024 highlighted the problem. This action effectively rendered 12 million players' investments worthless.
The closure of online-only games results in the irretrievable loss of countless hours of gameplay. Even in the first half of 2024, games like SYNCED and NEXON's Warhaven faced the same fate, leaving players with nothing to show for their purchases.
"It's planned obsolescence," Scott stated in a YouTube video. "Publishers are destroying games they've already sold, keeping the money." He compared this to the silent film era, where studios destroyed films to reclaim silver, resulting in the permanent loss of many films.
The initiative simply requests that games remain playable at the time of server shutdown. The petition explicitly states that publishers selling games (or related assets) in the EU must maintain the game's functionality. The method of achieving this is left to the publishers.
The initiative even extends to free-to-play games with microtransactions. Scott explains that if a purchased microtransaction becomes inaccessible due to a shutdown, it constitutes a loss of purchased goods.
This isn't unprecedented. Knockout City, shut down in June 2023, was later released as a free-to-play standalone game with private server support, making all previous purchases effectively free.
However, the initiative does not demand:
⚫︎ Surrender of intellectual property rights ⚫︎ Release of source code ⚫︎ Perpetual game support ⚫︎ Ongoing server hosting by publishers ⚫︎ Publisher liability for player actions
Support the "Stop Killing Games" campaign by signing the petition on their website (one signature per person). Country-specific instructions are available to ensure signature validity.
Even non-Europeans can help by spreading awareness. The ultimate goal is to create a ripple effect across the gaming industry, preventing future game closures.
