It seems like the European Union will soon examine the petition and decide whether the allegation is correct.
Also, the commission will decide whether new laws are needed to require video game companies to preserve discontinued online video games on public demand.
The people, especially gamers around the European Union, have signed a petition “Stop Destroying Games” that has received more than 1.4 million signatures across the European Union.
Stop Destroying The Games:
According to the gamer, what the video game developers and distributors are doing is a form of ‘programmed obsolescence’.
Actually, many video games have an online component, and when the component is deactivated, not by the publisher, but by the game distributors, the games become unplayable. This is the opinion of Daniel Ondruska, a founder of this initiative, shared his viewpoints with Euronews.
The problem arose in 2024, when an online racing game “The Crew”, developed by a French video game company, Ubisoft in 2014, became inaccessible since March 31, 2024.
This is a growing concern for gamers as it undermines consumer protection and destroys cultural heritage.
Daniel also added that their demand is that when the game is suspended, it must have an end-of-life plan to remain reasonably playable.
Otherwise, it is unfair to those who legally purchased the game. Hence, the game must be played with limited options.
The gamers do not demand intellectual properties, but rather to monetise. They just demand that the video game companies and distributors allow them to use their legally purchased video games completely.
Video Games Europe, a lobby group for the video game industry in the European Union, released a statement back in July, stating that “stopping an online game must be an option for companies only when they are not economically viable”.
This move is really disappointing to the players, but they deserve at least prior notice of potential changes in accordance with local consumer protection laws from the developers.
Additionally, it is not safe to save the video games on a different private server because there will be no data protection, no removal of illegal content, and no fight against dangerous content.
Gamers’ Initiative:
Following the discontinuation of several online video games, gamers across the European Union started an initiative, “Stop Destroying Games”, which was submitted on 19 June 2024 and launched on 31 July of the same year.
The campaign initially had one year to collect at least one million signatures in the European Union and reach minimum thresholds in at least seven Member States.
However, it is important to mention that the campaign received enough push from October 2024 and gained 1.4 million signatures within 4th July, 2025.
Since last Monday, the petition has been at the verification stage. The member states have only three months to decide the validity of the signatures and the importance of rules and regulations.
However, it is a very long way to go. The organisers must submit the petition formally before the European Commission for examination. This will have six months to state whether or not it is eligible to present a legislative proposal to the European Parliament.
If it is necessary, the petition may have to go through a process of adoption into EU law.
The Other Perspective:
According to the video game developers, they have already welcomed the move of Video Games Europe. The makers have also assured that in the near future, if it is necessary, they’ll surely discuss their position with the policymakers and the gamers.
According to the developers, it is very expensive to offer private servers or single-player modes in games that already have lost online multiplayer support and fan-supported versions that could be the legal liabilities for the company, especially when it comes to cybersecurity and content moderation.
However, the gamers claim that they pay money to play these games. However, the users usually don’t get their money back or any kind of compensation when the game is shut down by the publishers or the distributors.
Hence, most users believe that they are paying for a product that is taken away from them without their consent.
Of course, the makers can present their arguments that the users are not buying a product but a license to use the product, which can be terminated by the authority at any time without any prior notice.
Unfortunately, most gamers don’t view the situation from this perspective.
“Stop Killing Games” is a consumer movement that is mainly focused on challenging the legality of publishers destroying video games they have sold to customers.
The video games are sold as goods to the customers with no expiry date. However, the makers, when they don’t get enough profit from those games, uphold those games without consulting the users.
Such practice is very detrimental to the consumers and is a form of planned obsolescence. Such activities by the makers result in ineffective preservation of iconic games that people want to store for years.
However, such legal practice is highly untested in most countries.
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Ryo Fernandez is a professional gamer, content creator, and writer with over 10 years of experience in the gaming and animation industry. Known for his in-depth knowledge and passion, Ryo covers the latest video game news, anime updates, reviews, and industry trends. His mission is to keep gamers, anime lovers, and pop culture fans informed with accurate, timely, and engaging content.