Latest news with #EuropeanCitizens'Initiative
Euronews
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
‘Stop Killing Games' petition may trigger change to EU video game laws
The European Commission will likely have to decide whether the European Union needs new laws to force video game companies to preserve discontinued online games, after a successful citizens' petition. A European Citizens' Initiative called Stop Killing Games surpassed one million signatures in at least seven member states, which is the threshold to force the Commission to consider issues raised by the public. The petition argues that when video game makers decide to sell or discontinue online games, they typically sever the server connection needed for the games to run, effectively 'destroy[ing] all working copies of the game'. 'This practice is effectively robbing customers of their purchases and makes restoration impossible,' the petition reads. 'It represents a radical assault on consumer rights and even the concept of ownership itself'. Organisers Aleksej Vjalicin and Daniel Ondruska had until the end of July to collect one million signatures to officially send the petition to the Commission for further study. Launching 'overdrive mode' Vjalicin previously told Euronews Next that they mounted the campaign after Ubisoft, a French gaming company, shut down support for 'The Crew,' an online-only racing game that launched in 2014 and has a player base of roughly 12 million. The Stop Killing Games petition reached 1.25 million signatures, though they still need to be validated before the Commission will consider the issue. Vjalicin said he and the petition's supporters are "extremely thrilled" about reaching the milestone and "appreciate each and every signature that brought us closer to this critical milestone". They still hope to promote the campaign in what he's calling "overdrive mode" to collect "as many signatures as we can," because some might be invalidated during the EU's review. Few EU petitions have reached at least one million signatures since the programme launched in 2012. The Commission has replied to 10 petitions, while another four are being verified or under consideration. What is the petition asking for? The petition asks video game companies to create an 'end-of-life' plan for a game they have decided to discontinue before they turn off the servers that support it, so people can continue to play it. It argues that video games are 'unique creative works' and killing these games 'represents a creative loss for everyone involved and erases history in ways not possible in other mediums". The petition asks that any EU legislation also include protections for in-game features that players have bought. Industry group Video Games Europe said in a position paper on the petition last week that the decision to discontinue a game 'is multi-faceted and is never taken lightly". The group argues that players 'are given fair notice of the prospective changes,' in accordance with consumer laws. If the petition were to become law, Video Games Europe believes it would give companies 'significant' engineering problems, undermine their ability to develop new games, and could 'erode' intellectual property rights. What happens next? The Stop Killing Games initiative will not necessarily become EU law, given the Commission will still decide whether or not to draft new legislation. The organisers still have a few steps before policymakers will even consider the petition. First, 'designated authorities' in all EU countries will carry out exhaustive or random checks to make sure the signatures are legitimate. A certificate with the number of valid signatures will be sent from each national government to the organisers. Once they've received all of those documents, the petition can then be submitted to the Commission, which will hold a 'structured discussion' with the organisers. The European Parliament typically holds public hearings in the following months to help draft the EU's response. The Commission then replies to the petition with the measures it will take – if any – along with a timeline for their implementation. If it decides to pursue new legislation, any proposal will go through the regular lawmaking process.
Mint
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Stop Killing Games petition passes 1 million signatures, what's next for gamers?
The Stop Killing Game movement, a campaign to safeguard consumer rights and digital preservation in gaming, has reached over 1 million signatures. This petition demands legal protection for the games that have been purchased by gamers and, with this milestone, the EU has to create new laws regarding these demands. However, the petition now faces scrutiny over the validity of the signatures. Launched back in 2024 by YouTuber Ross Scott, when Ubisoft shut down a game called The Crew, the movement was created from widespread frustration over the loss of access to purchased games. The Crew, a game that features a single-player mode, became entirely unplayable when Ubisoft shut down the servers and revoked licences. This left gamers with absolutely nothing in hand. The demands of the movement are straightforward: if a game is sold without an expiration date, players should be able to retain access even after official support ends. The campaign does not ask the studios to keep the game online forever, but to keep providing offline patches and community server tools so the game stays playable after official shutdown. To advance these goals, Stop Killing Games initiated a petition through the European Citizens' Initiative process to drive legislative change across the EU. The overwhelming support for the petition shows the broad concern among gamers, but the founder of the movement warned that some signatures may be falsified. The gaming industry is resisting, with major publishers arguing that mandating post-shutdown support access will increase costs, pose security risks and stifle creative freedom. Critics like the independent developer Pirate Software have stated their concerns that the demands could be burdensome for smaller studios. Despite the challenges, the Stop Killing Games campaign has ignited a debate about digital ownership, consumer protection and preservation of games, as every game is becoming digital-only rather than a physical copy. The future of the Stop Killing Games movement hinges on the next few weeks. With over 1.2 million signatures, the petition is set for review by the EU. But organisers are pushing for 1.4 million by the end of July to offset invalid and falsified entries.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'Stop Killing Games' European Citizens' Initiative crosses 1 million signature goal, but there's a catch
The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative, which emerged as an effort to advocate for video game preservation and combat industry practices that run contrary to that goal, made a major breakthrough on July 3 with its European Citizens' Initiative. This initiative was a petitioning campaign geared towards citizens of the European Union. With the European Citizens' Initiative petition crossing 1 million signatures, there's an increased likelihood that the European Commission will consider new laws to bolster game preservation and better regulate video game companies. However, there's a catch, as 'Stop Killing Games' organizer Ross Scott explained in his update video after the signature target was hit. Many of the 'Stop Killing Games' signatures might be invalid Ross pointed out the likelihood that many of the signatures were either improperly filed or fraudulently submitted by people not in the European Union. He reiterated that this wasn't just a petition, and that the European Commission would treat the prevalence of fraudulent or improper signatures very seriously. Ross wasn't sure how these illegitimate signatures would impact the initiative's overall goals, but he has set up an 'overdrive' target of 400,000 additional signatures to account for these discrepancies. Ross made a deliberate effort not to sound too optimistic about how things were going, as he believed he was in a 'fog' and unsure of how successful the initiative actually was. However, the deadline for the European Citizens' Initiative petition is the end of July, which gives the movement a generous window to course-correct and bolster the campaign. 'Stop Killing Games' is a reaction to contentious industry practices The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative has passed 1,000,000 signatures 'Stop Killing Games' is a dedicated movement to advocate for game preservation that coalesced into its current state after Ubisoft's decision to completely pull 2014's The Crew from all storefronts, as well as shut down the game servers and render it completely unplayable. Ross Scott, who'd made his name on the Internet as a machinima content creator, began to organize a legal advocacy movement in order to regulate the games industry and prevent it from revoking access to games people already own. Aside from the European Citizens' Initiative, 'Stop Killing Games' is also working with consumer protection organizations of individual European Union countries, and has also submitted a petition to the United Kingdom parliament, which crossed its 100,000 signature goal on July 2, just one day before the success of the European Citizens' Initiative.
Express Tribune
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Stop Killing Games hits 1M signatures after PewDiePie and Asmongold support
The Stop Killing Games campaign has officially reached its goal of one million signatures, thanks in part to high-profile support from PewDiePie, Asmongold, Jacksepticeye, and even Elon Musk. The movement, launched by YouTuber Accursed Farms in April 2024, advocates for the preservation of online games after official support ends. The site says we have cleared 1 million signatures! I hate being like this, but there's a chance a significant number of them aren't real. That means we have to keep signing in overdrive mode to make up for them! I'll have a video on this later — Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) July 3, 2025 The campaign is part of a European Citizens' Initiative pushing for legislation that would require developers to keep online games accessible even after sunset. The one million signature milestone, confirmed on July 3, 2025, brings the initiative closer to potentially influencing EU law. Accursed Farms celebrated the achievement in a tweet but warned that not all signatures may be valid, stating, 'There's a chance a significant number of them aren't real,' urging continued participation to meet the verified threshold. Massive traffic following endorsements briefly took down the campaign's website. PewDiePie, in a YouTube post, expressed '100% support' for the cause. Jacksepticeye called it 'an absolute win' in a video on his secondary channel, and Asmongold encouraged EU-based gamers to sign via Twitter. Elon Musk amplified the movement further by retweeting Asmongold's message to over 220 million followers. Big thanks to @Jacksepticeye for helping cover Stop Killing Games! Seeing all these people support the movement makes me feel less crazy! — Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) July 1, 2025 10 months and over 800k signatures later, the Stop Killing Games initiative is almost across the finish line of 1 million. If you're from the EU and care about game preservation and consumer rights, consider signing this petitionhttps:// — Zack (@Asmongold) July 2, 2025 Elon Musk is on board with the Stop K*lling Games initiative Retweets Asmongold promoting the petition to his nearly 222 million followers — yeet (@Awk20000) July 3, 2025 The campaign's success comes after criticism from Pirate Software, who argued the initiative was vague and impractical. Following backlash and review bombing of his games, he stepped down from his position at Offbrand Games. The milestone marks a major victory for online game preservation advocates and signals growing momentum in the fight for digital gaming rights.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
What is the Stop Killing Games movement? Viral clash between Accursed Farms and Pirate Software explained
(Image via YouTube/@Accursed_Farms & @PirateSoftware) At the heart of a growing online movement, Stop Killing Games calls out developers for pulling the plug on live-service games too early. Created by YouTuber Ross Scott (Accursed Farms), it quickly gained support until Twitch streamer and indie dev Pirate Software pushed back. What started as a campaign for game preservation has now spiraled into a full-blown creator feud. Here's what's going on. What is Stop Killing Games? Launched in April 2024 by Ross Scott, the Stop Killing Games movement is all about preserving access to online games, especially after official support ends. Ross argues that when studios make a game dependent on servers and later shut them down, they're essentially selling something with an expiration date… without telling players. It's 'planned obsolescence,' he says — unfair to buyers and harmful to gaming history. The movement has gained real-world traction, too, with petitions in Europe aiming to legally require publishers to offer offline versions or alternatives when live-service titles go dark. Stop Killing Games Pirate Software Calls It Out Not everyone agreed with Ross's plan, most notably, Pirate Software (real name Jason Thor Hall). In a widely shared YouTube video, Pirate Software called the movement vague , unrealistic , and even dangerous to game devs. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like We Can't Believe She Wore That To The Red Carpet Golfhooked Read More Undo He argued that: The initiative is too broad and lacks clear solutions. It creates legal and technical burdens that most indie studios can't afford. It could hurt the industry by setting unrealistic expectations for all online games. Pirate also criticized Ross's suggestion to use this as a political tool, claiming it misdirects lawmakers from more urgent tech issues. The end of Stop Killing Games Accursed Farms Responds Ross didn't let that slide. He later addressed Pirate's critiques in an interview and a dedicated FAQ video, claiming Pirate had misrepresented the campaign's goals. According to Ross: The initiative isn't about keeping every live-service game alive forever. It's about offering basic access to purchased games, even post-shutdown. Pirate's comments hurt momentum during a crucial phase. 'It's unfortunate. I offered to talk with him about it.' Ross said. 'If you hate the initiative, you hate it, but at least hate it for what it is.' Signature Struggles & Blame Game As the deadline for the European Citizens' Initiative approached, only 47% of the required signatures had been collected. Ross claimed that Pirate Software's viral criticism stalled the campaign's momentum. He even uploaded a video on June 23, 2025, accusing Hall of 'lying' and making it harder for the petition to succeed. He said that: 'This put me in a no-win scenario, too, because if I ignored it, then a lot of people would get misinformed about the campaign, and if I did a response video, it would look like drama-farming.' Stop Killing Games... Who Supports the Movement? Despite the clash, Stop Killing Games still has powerful supporters. Big-name creators like MoistCritikal and SomeOrdinaryGamers have publicly backed Ross. Their argument? Preserving games isn't just nostalgic — it's about protecting a digital legacy. As SomeOrdinaryGamers put it: 'If we don't fight for this now, our gaming history might just vanish.' Whether you're Team Ross or Team Pirate, one thing's clear — this debate hits deeper than just two creators. It's about what we, as players, own when we buy a game… and what happens when that access disappears. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
