‘They kill games, we fight back’: the activists campaigning to keep video games playable

A consumer movement founded in 2024 is gaining legislative traction in the US and Europe in its push to require video game publishers to keep online titles playable after official server shutdowns, challenging an industry practice that renders purchased games permanently inaccessible. The campaign, Stop Killing Games, was launched by YouTuber Ross Scott after Ubisoft discontinued the online-only racing game The Crew [1][2]. The group advocates for legal protections that would compel publishers to implement end-of-life plans, including a proposal that companies permit players to purchase and operate private servers when official support ends [1]. "A constituent in my district brought this issue to my attention, highlighting a concerning gap in consumer protection for live service games," California Assembly member Chris Ward said in an emailed statement [1]. The movement has pursued multiple legal avenues. A European Citizens' Initiative petition gathered approximately 1.3 million valid signatures, and a UK Parliament petition secured enough support for an official debate, though no amendments to existing law resulted [2]. On 9 June, 45 members of the European parliament sent a letter urging commission president Ursula von der Leyen and other officials to commit to legislative action [1]. The European Commission responded that it cannot impose a legal obligation to keep games playable due to copyright and intellectual property constraints, but it will work with publishers on a "code of conduct on managing video games' 'end of life'" [1]. In the United States, the Protect Our Games act passed the California Assembly in June and now heads to the state senate [1]. If enacted, the bill would require advance notice before a game is taken offline and mandate a mechanism for continued player access, applying to purchased titles released after January 2027 [1]. The Entertainment Software Association has opposed the measure. Its president, Stan Pierre-Louis, wrote that "behind every online game is an enormous, invisible infrastructure" and that a legal requirement to maintain games indefinitely would put publishers in "an impossible situation" [1]. Stop Killing Games strategy lead Moritz Katzner characterized the industry's resistance as a "pure business decision." "They're concerned that people still playing their existing games aren't going to buy a new one," Katzner said. "That's the simple thought chain here. But if you buy a new car, your old provider doesn't come and destroy the old one" [1]. The group is now lobbying for inclusion in the European Union's forthcoming Digital Fairness Act, which is expected before the European parliament this summer [1].