European Gamers Launch Petition to Save Online Games from Server Shutdowns

A European citizen's initiative, "Stop Killing Games," is striving to protect players' digital investments by pushing for EU legislation to prevent game publishers from shutting down online games and rendering purchases unplayable. The petition, launched in August 2024, aims to gather one million signatures within a year to trigger the EU legislative process. Currently, it boasts over 183,000 signatures.

The initiative's catalyst was Ubisoft's closure of The Crew, an online-only racing game, in March 2024, effectively wiping out the investment of 12 million players. This highlights the growing concern over "planned obsolescence" in the gaming industry, where publishers end support for games, leaving players with nothing but lost time and money. Similar closures of titles like SYNCED and NEXON's Warhaven further fuel this movement.

Campaign organizer Ross Scott argues that this practice is akin to the silent film era's silver reclamation, resulting in the irretrievable loss of countless films. The petition seeks to hold publishers accountable, not by demanding perpetual support or relinquishing intellectual property, but by requiring games to remain functional at the time of server shutdown. This applies even to free-to-play games with microtransactions, ensuring that purchased items remain accessible. The method of achieving this functionality is left to the publishers' discretion.

The initiative clarifies that it does not demand:

• Relinquishing intellectual property rights
• Handing over source code
• Guaranteeing endless support
• Mandatory server hosting by publishers
• Publisher liability for player actions

The success of the petition hinges on reaching the one-million-signature threshold. While the goal is ambitious, the campaign has a year to achieve it. Even those outside the EU can contribute by spreading awareness. The petition can be signed at the "Stop Killing Games" website; however, multiple signatures from the same individual are invalid.

The campaign hopes to set a precedent, inspiring global change in the industry and preventing future game closures that leave players with nothing to show for their investment.