Is this the end of switching off games online? Stop Killing Games on the last straight to the EU
Most computer games require constant support for publishers and an active internet connection. But what if the developer closes the servers and players lose access to the game? Such a fate met one of the titles of Ubisoft, which became the basis for creating the STOP KILLING Games initiative. Her postulates now have a chance to hear by EU institutions.
Ubisoft turned off the servers
In December 2023, Ubisoft announced that he was finishing the support for his game “The Crew” and removed it from his platform, announcing the exclusion of servers on March 31, 2024. Content that required internet connection for action, have become inaccessible to all playerswhich the distributor began to additionally receive a license to use the content (de facto and so “unusable” due to closed servers). Although Ubisoft offered a return to people who acquired the game shortly before the December announcement, but users who had it for several years did not receive any compensation. Two bitter players from California even filed a lawsuit against the company, demanding compensation, but Ubisoft refutes the allegations, claiming that customers acquired a license, not the right to play.
The case has become an inspiration for Ross Scott, a YouTuber criticizing the service and the ability to turn them off. After closing “The Crew” Scott announced the start of the “Stop Killing Games” campaign, calling developers to provide access to games after the end of official support, e.g. in the form of modifications or private servers placed by players. In his materials, youtuber encouraged viewers to submit petitions to state authorities, including in Great Britain, where it will be considered by parliament.
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Not for destroying games
However, the greatest publicity was gained by the European Citizens' Initiative “Stop Destroying Videogames”, which started on June 19, 2024 and was submitted by people representing various EU Member States. The creators of the petitions demand from the publishers of games to leave them in a state enabling gameplay after their supportwhile not expecting to make additional resources available. On the official EU website we read that the initiative is aimed at
Prevention of remote blocking of video games by publishers before providing appropriate measures enabling the further functioning of these video games regardless of the publisher
The authors note that a large part of the games requires an active internet connection with the publisher or producer, but the end of support is often associated with breaking this connection, destroying physical copies and preventing the repair of the game, which in practice deprives the user of its purchase. The creators of the initiative say that such publishers practices violate consumer rights, and license agreements bypass existing users' protection measures, violating ownership.
During the year, the petition collected the required one million signatures of EU citizens, thanks to which it could be considered by the European Commission, and then discussed in the European Parliament. Votes will be verified earlier, therefore to prevent their loss, the organizers increased the required threshold to 1.4 million applications, which was achieved on July 20, 2025.
Publishers' protest
Stop Killing Games from the start of the Campaign and European Initiative raises emotions on both players and publishers. YouTubers published gaming content and activists dealing with consumer rights expressed support. Among the people supporting the idea was even the Vice -President of the European Parliament, Nicolae ștefănță, who signed a petition and and reported on Instagram stated that “The game, once sold, belongs to the consumer, not to the company”.
On the other side of the dispute there are developers and publishers who criticize the initiative, accusing its unrealistic goals and harming the video game industry. Video Games Europe, associating publishers such as Electronic Arts, Nintendo or Ubisoft, said that the maintenance of closed games is unprofitable, and the creation of private servers by players could expose the owners of rights to responsibility related to illegal content.
Ubisoft himself, whose actions initiated the entire movement, until now abstained from the comments, but in July during the meeting for investors he was simply asked about the player's initiative. The president of the company explained that Ubisoft makes efforts to provide support for games 24 hours a day, but maintaining online content is a problem for all publishers. However, the outrage of the players aroused the words that Support for purchased games cannot last forever – In response, it was pointed out that Stop Killing Games is about providing access to normal gameplay after closing servers, not unlimited support from publishers.
Accusations of hidden sponsorship
Ross Scott announced in July that The European petition has been accused of hiding information about sponsorswhose contribution exceeds 500 euros. The initiative page did not indicate the source of financing of the campaign, but the applicant sees the initiator of the entire movement, which, although not a European, he supports the petition and its creators. The anonymous author of the complaint based on Scott's statements, in which he talked about encouraging signatures for up to 12-14 hours a day, which, after converted into pay range for similar orders, gave an amount of 63 to 147 thousand euros.
Such a value in the opinion of the complaint proves hidden sponsorship, but Ross Scott replied, arguing its activities, which is not subject to the application, and denying the receipt of financial resources from anyone. The creators of the European initiative previously consulted YouTuber's contribution to the campaign, making sure that this is lawful, therefore accusations should be rejected, but in the light of statements of the video game representatives, the complaint may be considered an attempt to discredit petitions and weaken its popularity.
First verification, then conversations
After collecting signatures, the organizers must divide them according to citizenship within 3 months and transfer them to relevant bodies in individual EU countries, which will check the correctness of applications for the next quarter. Only after receiving confirmations from all countries will the creators of the initiative be able to spend their arguments of the European Commission, for which they have another 3 months.
After submitting documents, the EC will start studying the initiative, meeting its organizers who will also be able to present the petition in public in the European Parliament. The effect may be the PE debate over the topic and adopting a resolution.
