The Stop Killing Games petition is nearing its July 31 deadline, and while it has crossed its 1 million signature threshold, it could do with some additional support.
Have you bought and loved a game only to have the developers give up on it, effectively causing you to lose access to the title? That’s what the “Stop Killing Games” petition is all about. The campaign was started as an initiative by Ross Scott, creator of the Accursed Farms YouTube channel and a gamer who was frustrated by the gaming industry’s “buying is not owning” agenda. Left frustrated after Ubisoft decided to close the shutters on the game The Crew, the petition came to life all the way back in April 2024 as a way to get the EU government to take his concerns seriously.
The game preservation movement became quite well-known in some gaming communities, however, it also remained under the radar until recent events saw the petitioner on the verge of giving up on the initiative. Over the last two weeks, the conversation around the Stop Killing Games campaign has escalated to such a degree that the petitions just crossed their goal of 1 million signatures. There is still a fair amount of criticism surrounding the initiative, but with big names like Moist Critical and PewDiePie putting their support behind it, things have progressed at a stellar pace.
Image: Pexels
What Is the Stop Killing Games Petition About?
Over the years, we have seen many evolutions in the gaming industry, and one of particular note has been the decision to run games on company servers online, owing to their ability to keep expanding and bringing multiplayer experiences to the forefront of the conversation. However, due to this shift towards online play, gamers are no longer playing exclusively on their consoles but instead are hosted on the developers’ systems. Even games that don’t have a live-service format and can be played solo are now tied to company servers.
While this makes it easier to work out bugs and issue fixes for major problems, it also means that when a studio decides to stop working on the game and pouring resources into it, the game is effectively dead. Regardless of how much you paid to buy and own the game, the title is lost to you once the developers and publishers are done with it. This can be very disappointing to gamers who have lavished the title with their time and money and do not want it to disappear. Not only is this a big loss to the players, but it is also a disappointment to the community that cherishes preservation.
The Stop Killing Games Campaign is a European Citizens’ Initiative
The Stop Killing Games petition is a consumer rights initiative for citizens of EU countries to encourage the European Commission to pass laws and set clear regulations on the rights of consumers when it comes to video games. While the conversation is expanding internationally, it is primarily a movement for the EU region to make its voice heard, as passing 1,000,000 signatures will allow new laws to be brought before the government for consideration.
According to the petition, Stop Killing Games is a “consumer movement started to challenge the legality of publishers destroying video games they have sold to customers. An increasing number of video games are sold effectively as goods—with no stated expiration date—but designed to be completely unplayable as soon as support from the publisher ends.” The petition goes on to call it a form of “planned obsolescence,” elaborating that it affects the consumers and makes preservation impossible.
Similar conversations have been brought forth in other regions across the globe, but so far, no legislation has been changed to support the cause. It is a difficult situation to govern, and the petition doesn’t delve into a clear solution to the matter. Fan-managed servers could be a solution, but not all game creators are willing to allow it.
It can be understandably difficult for a company to support a service indefinitely once it stops being a profitable source of revenue. Keeping the servers running requires more than just a monetary investment, as they will be required to oversee their upkeep as well. However, alternatives and solutions will not be found until they are motivated to look for them.
The Petition Has Been Met With Criticism and Resistance
From the start, the gaming petition has been surrounded by controversy. Many have taken the petition to mean that those signing it want to force developers to keep the servers up and running till the end of time, even though that is not the case. It has also been said that when buying a game, the buyer only acquires a license to the game and not the game itself, so the lack of ownership eliminates any say you have in the matter.
The legalities of this debate are a separate matter, but the petition is aimed at starting a conversation regarding the matter to put checks in place to ensure that buying is owning. Consumer protection laws need to evolve and keep up with the challenges of the modern world, and the petition is a step in that direction. Whether through consumer-led servers or other alternative solutions that studios can come up with, gamers want ownership and indefinite access to the games they buy.
YouTuber and streamer Pirate Software was one of the biggest critics of the petition and was accused of misrepresenting the initiative and inhibiting its progress. Indirectly, his disagreement played a large part in bringing attention back to the matter. After receiving backlash for his stance, he has now distanced himself from Offbrand Games, alleging that people began attacking games from the publisher as retaliation for his opinion. Many online remain skeptical of his claims of backlash, however, the decision to separate himself from the organization should help gamers see them as two separate entities.
For those trying to say this is now somehow a lie.
The abuse was across socials, people on discord, twitter, reddit, and some reviews on steam. Indie Games are fragile things and attacks like that hit hard. Overall sentiment was to bash the games and the developers working on…
— Pirate Software (@PirateSoftware) July 3, 2025
None of OffBrand Games’s titles are getting review bombed.
Ludwig and Pirate Software are both blatantly lying to seemingly further slander the “Stop Killing Games” movement.Incredibly weird and manipulative behaviour from the both of them here… pic.twitter.com/gKHnh0Ocx7
— Mischief (@MischiefsYT) July 3, 2025
Image: The Stop Killing Games petition
The Game Preservation Movement Receives 1 Million Signatures, but It’s Too Soon to Celebrate
Many fans are celebrating because the Stop Killing Games campaign just crossed the threshold of 1 million signatures, which should be enough for the government to consider the petition seriously. Unfortunately, the work isn’t done yet. It’s very possible that a large number of these signatures are fake or incorrect and could be discounted when the petition is considered. The game preservation movement is a government petition and not a regular petition like one might see on Change.org.
As such, it requires legitimate EU citizens to sign on to show support. Any errors during the signing of the initiative could invalidate their support, and there could be others with malicious intentions who have faked their signatures on the initiative. The founder of the petition, Ross Scott, said as much in a Twitter/X post, elaborating on the point further in a video on his Accursed Farms channel.
The site says we have cleared 1 million signatures! I hate being like this, but there’s a chance a significant number of them aren’t real. That means we have to keep signing in overdrive mode to make up for them! I’ll have a video on this later today.https://t.co/EpnNTDR85U
— Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) July 3, 2025
He also indicated that intentionally spoofing your signature on the petition could be seen as a crime and should be avoided. The likelihood of repercussions remains low, but it’s an issue nonetheless. For the Stop Killing Games petition to be taken seriously, it’s best for it to cross a few more milestones and reach 1.4 million signatures before it reaches its July 31, 2025, deadline. If you’re an EU citizen and care about the cause, you still have time to show your support for the cause to ensure that it is heard, even if a large number of signatures are invalidated.
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