Today, the Stop Killing Games campaign is expressing deep disappointment after the European Commission’s announcement about the recent European Parliament discussions on preserving online games—and about how the EU intends (or does not intend) to support the movement from this point onward.
This week’s update relates to the Stop Destroying Videogames citizens’ initiative, created by the Stop Killing Games movement. The petition urged the EU to introduce a fresh legal structure aimed at preventing game publishers from shutting down titles players have already bought, effectively overnight.
The concern is particularly strong for games that depend on multiplayer features—such as EA BioWare’s Anthem, Sony’s Concord, and Ubisoft’s The Crew. These are full-price releases that stop being playable once their online services are turned off.
The petition was recently taken up in the European Parliament, where it appeared to receive a highly encouraging reception. Still, after that debate—and following a later hearing—the European Commission said it will not move to revise the existing legal framework. “At this time, the Commission considers that it cannot put forward a legal obligation to ensure the continued playability of video games once they are no longer commercially available,” its statement explained.
The Commission added that, under EU copyright rules, “rightsholders hold exclusive rights” over their works. It also argued that existing EU consumer law already delivers “significant” safeguards for buyers.
Even so, the Commission acknowledged that: “Video game providers must inform consumers about the duration and the conditions for terminating the contract before consumers agree to the video game,” which matches one of the protections the Stop Destroying Videogames petition was seeking. At the same time, it left unclear how such enforcement would actually work.
The Commission also said it would liaise with the games industry and consumer representatives, “with the intention of drawing up an industry code of conduct on the management of video games’ ‘end of life’.” That was another objective of the Stop Destroying Videogames initiative—pushing for earlier transparency about what happens when a live service title is shut down.
Finally, the Commission promised to keep highlighting the consumer rights people already have, hoping to “encourage providers to offer video games with longer lifespans and explore solutions to meet consumer expectations”.
So, while there are some concessions for the Stop Destroying Videogames initiative, the refusal to revise European legislation—and the choice to lean on the current rules instead—is viewed as a disappointment.
“The EU Commission has released their response and, unfortunately, it aligns with my expectations” -Ross Scott
“The EU Commission has released their response and, unfortunately, it aligns with my expectations,” Stop Killing Games founder Ross Scott said during a livestreamed press conference after the announcement. “They will not propose new legislation.
“Their overall message is…let’s just leave this to the courts; if there is an issue, the courts will take care of it because there are existing laws that cover it. The challenge is that no one understands what the law actually entails. This practice has persisted at least since 2010 or 2013, depending on how you approach it, and the law still does not provide clarity on this matter.”
Even so, Scott said he remained hopeful about the outcome and urged supporters to avoid feeling discouraged. “I am very pleased that we’re making progress in parliament,” Scott said. “Do not be discouraged by this response whatsoever. It’s what we anticipated and, regrettably, it’s precisely what occurred.
“We can still pursue an amendment to the Digital Fairness Act. We have majority backing in Parliament — everything is still on track for that. This simply highlights the EU Commission as being a barrier in this process.”
For Stop Killing Games, this represents a setback after what appeared to be a promising hearing in the EU Parliament earlier this year. However, the movement isn’t only focused on Europe. In the United States, a Protect Our Games Act—again backed by Stop Killing Games—recently cleared a major vote in California.