Yesterday, the Stop Killing Games movement reached 1 million supporters. And in just a few hours, the European Gaming Industry Lobby responded to it. So, let’s take a look at what they had to say.
Video Games Europe is a group that speaks for the video game industry in Europe. It works on things like rules for games, keeping players safe, supporting game culture, and helping the industry grow. It started in 1998 and is based in Brussels. The group includes trade organizations from about 15 countries, as well as big gaming companies like EA, Ubisoft, Nintendo, Microsoft, Riot, and Activision Blizzard.
Here’s the full quote regarding future game preservation, coming directly from VGE.
“We appreciate the passion of our community; however, the decision to discontinue online services is multi-faceted, never taken lightlyand must be an option for companies when an online experience is no longer commercially viable. We understand that it can be disappointing for players but, when it does happen, the industry ensures that players are given fair notice of the prospective changes in compliance with local consumer protection laws.
Private servers are not always a viable alternative option for players as the protections we put in place to secure players’ data, remove illegal content, and combat unsafe community content would not exist and would leave rights holders liable. In addition, many titles are designed from the ground-up to be online-only; in effect, these proposals would curtail developer choice by making these video games prohibitively expensive to create.”
VGE shared a 5-page PDF. Make sure to check it out. In short, it mostly repeats things you may already know. It also explains why it’s hard to add an offline mode or keep an online game running after official support ends.
It’s important to know that Video Games Europe (VGE) is not part of the European Union, like the European Commission or Parliament. VGE works for video game companies, not for the government or for players. So, it’s no surprise they answered the way they did. Their board includes people from big companies like Warner Bros, EA, Activision, and Nintendo. That means they will always try to protect what’s best for their companies. Simply put, they mostly care about business, not players. After all, these are the same companies that led to the creation of the Stop Killing Games movement.
In short, this is a nothing-burger. This statement is neither a positive nor a negative thing. It also does not undermine the purpose of Stop Killing Games. So, it will be interesting to see how the European Union will respond to it.
For the time being, consumers can only vote with their wallets. If you don’t like these online practices, you should simply avoid buying online-only games. I know it sounds harsh but once you buy a game these days, you agree to its EULA. And the EULA of all online games cover the fact that one day they will no longer work. So, once you agree to the EULA, you lose any right to complain.
I know some people want to play some online-only games. But right now, there isn’t much you can do. The only real way to make a difference is with how you spend your money. You should start choosing where and how you spend it. Sounds ridiculous but that’s how things are in 2025.
Stay tuned for more!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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