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The battle to keep video games alive after publishers pull the plug

Updated / Monday, 18 Aug 2025 10:00

When you buy something, you often think that you own it. That it's yours to use whenever and if ever you want to. When you leave the shop with that book, you can read it until the pages fall out. With a CD, you get to play it until the end of time.

It just seems like one of the most basic consumer rights, right? Sadly, the era of the internet and online streaming has blurred the lines of consumer ownership, with many of us paying for services rather than direct products. And we're slowly realising that we can be locked out of content in an instant.

It turns out that we're often given 'temporary ownership' until such time as the provider decides otherwise. This becomes a major problem in gaming, where many titles still come with soaring premium prices, but can offer potentially limited access.

Since video games are often reliant on online servers to function, they can effectively 'die' if publishers stop their support. Even if you own the physical disc, without the proper support, and regardless of the price you paid or the time you invested, there's little guarantee that you can play your favourite games into the future. With little notice, they could just vanish.

But there could be a change on the horizon.

Watch: Stop Killing Games: A History

A new consumer movement has garnered millions of signatures and aims to bring the debate over consumer ownership of games directly onto the floor of the European and UK Parliaments. So, is it time to 'stop killing games'? And how will the game industry react to the idea of providing extended support?

Stop Killing Games aims to curb game 'abandonment'

Stop Killing Games is an organization that aims to challenge the legality of publishers who 'destroy' video games they've sold to customers. The initiative highlights the problem of 'planned obsolescence', whereby an increasing number of games are sold with 'no stated expiration date', but are designed in a way that renders them unplayable as soon as support ends.

The idea behind the movement is to secure reassurances that, once bought, a player can expect to enjoy playing a video game in some capacity. On the website, the initiative clarifies their mission with: 'We are in favour of publishers ending support for a game whenever they choose. What we are asking for is that they implement an end-of-life plan to modify or patch the game so that it can run on customer systems with no further support from the company being necessary.'

Watch: Citizens' petition 'Stop Killing Games' reaches 1.4m signatures

Using the framework of the European Citizens' Initiative, the movement exceeded the 1 million target of signatures required, meaning the Commission must now meet with representatives, hold public hearings and possible debates, and also decide on what actions it may take. Ahead of schedule, the campaign has already caught the attention of the very politicians it seeks to address.

Vice President of the European Parliament, Nicolae Ștefănuță, recently declared his support of the movement, saying in a video posted on social media: "I stand with the people who started this citizen initiative. I signed and will continue to help them. A game, once sold, belongs to the customer, not the company."

Stop Killing Games also aims to highlight the cultural loss at stake, noting that when publishers cease supporting their games, preservation becomes almost impossible. Instead, games become a part of folklore.

Just how are games 'killed'?

Many modern games rely on a server and internet connectivity to work. As such, it falls on the publisher to keep this running upon release, and well into the game's lifespan. If a publisher shuts down the server, it is severing life support for the game.

Even if you own a physical copy of the disc or invested hundreds of hours into it, you won't be able to access content you've paid for. And since players have few ways to repair the game, as well as a lack of an offline mode, the game is effectively put on a permanent pause.

Is it time to 'stop killing games'? And how will the game industry react to the idea of providing extended support?

Sadly, no one is ever sure if (or when) a game will enter an unplayable state. Sure, publishers can give notice to players of eventual closures, but this can be seen more as a courtesy than a requirement. It could be today. Tomorrow. Or a year from now. It could be a game you've played for years, or one you've just recently picked up at the weekend.

To remedy this problem, calls are being made for games to be designed in such a way that makes them as functional as possible when support does, in fact, end. But could supporting games in this manner balloon game development costs?

Per the Stop Killing Games' website, the movement says this is "extremely unlikely", stating that "the costs associated with implementing this requirement can be very small, if not trivial. Furthermore, it often takes a company with large resources at its disposal to even construct games of this nature in the first place. Small developers with constrained budgets are less likely to be contributing to this problem."

What has the reaction been across the industry?

The reaction to the movement and its increasing popularity has been mixed, to say the least.

As first reported by Game File, Stop Killing Games was brought up at the recent annual shareholders meeting of Ubisoft. It is worth noting that Ubisoft, which coincidentally shut down servers for its online racing game The Crew back in 2024 (rendering it unplayable), is often seen as the inspiration behind the movement.

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When Ubisoft shutdown online servers for The Crew in 2024.
it rendered the game unplayable.

At the meeting, when asked if a player who buys a Ubisoft game owns it, and whether he supports the movement, CEO Yves Guillemot said: "You provide a service, but nothing is written in stone, and at some point the service may be discontinued. Nothing is eternal. And we are doing our best to make sure that things go well for all players and buyers, because obviously support for all games cannot last forever."

"But that's an issue that we're working on. That's something that the industry at large is working on, to minimise impact on players. But clearly that's something you need to factor in."

Several major publishers have remained silent on the issue to date, which ironically speak volumes. Many suspect they're waiting to see how the initiative develops in the coming months before committing to any particular stance.

That said, social media has already seen some declare their support through the #StopKillingGames hashtag, reaffirming promises to honour consumer rights and urging players to support the petition.

Why this consumer initiative is important to gamers and non-gamers alike

Since achieving well over the required 1 million signatures, Stop Killing Games is now progressing through the framework for the European Citizens' Initiative. There's a timeline in motion that should take over six months to complete.

Within one month, representatives will meet to discuss the issue in detail, and within three months, there will be an opportunity for a public hearing and potential debates. And within six months, the Commission will then explain what action (if any) it will propose in response.

While the true success of Stop Killing Games remains to be seen, it has ignited a passionate debate on consumer ownership, the effects of which could be felt by the television, music, film, and software industries too. What exactly do we own, and for how long? Gamers, interesting times are ahead.

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ

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