Stop Killing Games Petition Reaches Important New Milestone

Stop Killing Games has officially reached 1.4 million signatures, far surpassing the number required for its merits to be considered. The previous goal was for 1 million signatures, and the petition reached that number on July 3. Since then, even the Vice President of the European Parliament has signed the petition, expressing support for the movement across social media. However, this hasn’t prevented several industry veterans from criticizing the movement, including the co-founder of Ubisoft.

Currently serving as CEO of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot’s recent criticism of Stop Killing Games focused on the idea that a publisher shouldn’t be expected to maintain a service in perpetuity, stating “at some point the service may be discontinued.” While this comment doesn’t address the problem of consumers losing access to previously purchased games, it seems to be the perspective of several people in the industry, including the European publisher group Video Games Europe.

Stop Killing Games Movement Gains Support From Vice President of the European Parliament

European Parliament Vice President Nicolae Stefanuta voices his support for the Stop Killing Games movement, which aims to keep online games active.

As of July 21, the Stop Killing Games petition has officially received a total of 1,408,760 signatures. While the original goal was for 1 million people to sign the petition, its recent success prompted the organizers to set a stretch goal of 1.4 million signatures for Stop Killing Games with the intent of addressing potentially invalidated statements of support. The deadline for Stop Killing Games is July 31, and gamers in the European Union are still welcome to sign the petition until that date.

Stop Killing Games Pushes Forward Despite Criticism

While the removal of games like The Crew indirectly led to the creation of this petition, Ubisoft is far from the only industry titan guilty of making its online games unplayable. In just the last 2 years, EA has shut down dozens of titles, a practice that continues with the recent decision to delist EA Sports FC 24, a soccer game published in 2023. The success of Stop Killing Games shows that, at least in Europe, gamers are frustrated with publishers who make these kinds of decisions and ignore potential solutions such as player-hosted servers.

In the modern age, sometimes removing a video game from its digital store can make it impossible to play. This has been a problem since the dawn of online gaming, but with companies such as Entergram suddenly delisting over 100 games from the PlayStation Store, this is clearly a growing concern for a lot of gamers. If the Stop Killing Games petition manages to convince the European Parliament to make changes, it could result in new laws across the European Union that would prevent video game publishers from delisting games. That said, no official announcement has been made about what actions will be taken if and when the petition is successful.