If you’ve ever wanted justice after you paid your hard-earned money for a video game, only for the publisher to cut off support later, often rendering the game unplayable in the process, you’re not alone.
The “Stop Killing Games” movement, an online initiative that aims to lobby governments into making these types of practices illegal, plans to create two non-governmental organizations, one in the US and one in the European Union.
According to a new YouTube video, first spotted by Engadget, posted by the campaign’s creator, Ross Scott, the NGOs will work on making the demands in the Stop Killing Games campaign part of EU law. They will also work towards setting up a system that will allow customers to report publishers for revoking access to already purchased games.
The consumer rights movement launched in 2024 after game publisher Ubisoft yanked away support for the 2014 racing game The Crew, delisting the game from players’ libraries entirely.
The group’s first petition eventually racked up 1 million signatures, meaning that it must eventually be discussed in the European Parliament. The movement has also gained support from some high-profile figures within the games world and politics, including some of YouTube’s most popular streamers, Cr1TiKaL and PewDiePie, as well as Minecraft creator Markus Persson and European Parliament Vice President Nicolae Stefanuta.
A petition from the movement directed towards the UK government did receive a parliamentary response late last year, though a decision was made not to address current laws on “digital obsolescence.”
Though the movement doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, it attracted plenty of third-party criticism. Sergio Ferreira, an intellectual property lawyer, told GamesIndustry.Biz last year that it “is unreasonable to expect to be able to play a live-service game which is online-server dependent for eternity.”
He added that keeping older games playable requires “constant maintenance and third-party licensing” and that “preserving these experiences isn’t as simple as slapping some files on GitHub and calling it a day.”
Get Our Best Stories!
Your Daily Dose of Our Top Tech News
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
About Our Expert
Experience
I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.
I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.