Wait, Where Did My Game Go?
Imagine this: you spend your hard-earned money on a new video game. You sink hours into it, maybe even years. Then one day, you log on and… nothing. The servers are gone, and the game you paid for is completely unplayable. This isn’t a hypothetical nightmare; it’s a growing reality in the digital age of gaming, and it’s the exact scenario that sparked a massive consumer rights movement known as ‘Stop Killing Games’.
The campaign exploded into the spotlight after publisher Ubisoft shut down the servers for its 2014 racing game, The Crew. Because the game required a constant internet connection to work, even for single-player content, the server shutdown rendered it a useless file on players’ hard drives. To make matters worse, Ubisoft then began revoking the game licenses from players’ accounts, effectively deleting it from their libraries. For many gamers, this was the last straw.
A Movement is Born
Enter Ross Scott, a YouTuber known for his channel ‘Accursed Farms’. He launched the “Stop Killing Games” initiative to challenge what he describes as an assault on consumer rights and media preservation. The movement’s core argument is simple: if a customer pays for a product, they should not have it remotely destroyed by the seller. This practice of intentionally designing a product to become unusable is known as planned obsolescence.
The goal isn’t to force companies to support games with new content forever. Instead, it’s to require publishers to leave games in a functional state when they decide to walk away. This could mean patching in an offline mode or releasing the necessary tools for the community to host their own private servers. It’s about preserving the ability to play the game you purchased.
Taking the Fight to the Lawmakers
What started as a call to action has evolved into a powerful grassroots campaign with real political momentum. The Stop Killing Games movement has focused its efforts on changing the law to protect consumers.
The campaign’s biggest push has been in Europe, with a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) that gathered a staggering 1.4 million signatures by July 2025. This success forces the European Commission to review the petition and consider introducing new laws. Similarly, a parallel petition in the UK surpassed the 100,000 signatures needed to be considered for a debate in Parliament, which is scheduled for November 2025.
The movement has also engaged directly with members of the European Parliament, national governments, and political parties. They’ve encouraged gamers to participate in public consultations, like the one for the EU’s Digital Fairness Act, which saw a record-breaking number of submissions thanks to the campaign’s efforts. They are making it impossible for politicians to ignore the issue.
Is It Actually Working?
The pressure seems to be having an effect. While Ubisoft initially gave a dismissive response to the campaign, the company later announced it would be adding an offline mode to The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest. While this doesn’t save the original game, it’s a major concession and a sign that publishers are feeling the heat from consumers.
Legal changes are also beginning to happen. In the United States, a new Californian law came into effect in January 2025 that forces digital storefronts to be more transparent. It makes it illegal to use words like “buy” or “purchase” if the customer is only being granted a license that can be revoked at any time. In response, platforms like Steam have started adding disclaimers to clarify that you are buying a license to use a game, not the game itself.
Conclusion: The Future of Game Ownership
The battle is far from over, but the Stop Killing Games movement has successfully shifted the conversation around digital ownership. It has proven that when gamers unite, their collective voice is powerful enough to get the attention of both corporations and governments. The fight continues, but for the first time in a long time, there’s a real hope that the games you buy today will still be playable tomorrow, not just until a publisher decides to flip a switch.
FAQs on the Stop Killing Games Movement
1. What is the ‘Stop Killing Games’ initiative?
It’s a consumer-led movement advocating for laws that would prevent video game publishers from making purchased games unplayable after they end official support. The goal is game preservation and protecting consumer rights.
2. What started the movement?
It was launched by YouTuber Ross Scott of ‘Accursed Farms’ in response to Ubisoft shutting down the online-only game The Crew in 2024, which made it completely unplayable for everyone who had purchased it.
3. Is it legal for a company to shut down a game I bought?
In most places, yes. When you “buy” a digital game, you are typically purchasing a license to play it, which the publisher can revoke. The laws around this are what the Stop Killing Games movement is trying to change.
4. Has the campaign achieved anything?
Yes. It successfully organized petitions in the EU and UK that gained enough signatures to be considered by lawmakers. It has also influenced publisher behavior, such as Ubisoft adding an offline mode to later The Crew games, and has been linked to new consumer protection laws in California regarding digital sales.
5. What does the movement want publishers to do?
The campaign asks that when publishers end support for a game, they provide a way for it to remain playable. This could be through a final patch that enables an offline mode or by allowing fans to run their own private servers.
6. How is this different from asking for perpetual support?
The movement isn’t asking for new content, bug fixes, or active customer service forever. It is simply asking that the core game remains functional and accessible to the people who paid for it, even after the publisher moves on.