Stop Killing Games has ignited a movement spanning the entire gaming and esports industry, with interest resurging in July 2025 following controversial statements made by Pirate Software and Ubisoft’s CEO, Yves Guillemot. On July 20 2025, the initiative’s EU petition reached its goal of 1.4 million signatures, pushing its progress forward. Here’s a recap and analysis of the situation.
On Sunday, July 20 2025, the Stop Killing Games movement hit a new milestone. Its European Citizens’ Initiative petition surpassed 1.4 million signatures, officially reaching its organizers’ goal. This signer quantity will “cater for any statements of support that might be invalidated by the Member States during the verification process,” meaning the petition will be legitimized even if a significant quantity of signatures are invalidated. The success occurs just ten days before the petition’s deadline on Thursday, July 31 2025.
The European Citizens’ Initiative petition focuses on laws in the European Union. Specifically, its goal is “to require publishers that sell or license videogames to consumers in the European Union […] to leave said videogames in a functional (playable) state […] to prevent the remote disabling of videogames by the publishers, before providing reasonable means to continue functioning of said videogames without the involvement from the side of the publisher.”
For a European Citizens’ Initiative petition to progress, it must surpass its individual goal and meet individual country participation thresholds. The next step for Stop Killing Games is a “phase of consideration,” where parliament members will review the petition by designating committees, referring to institutions and seeking external feedback.
Parliamentary review processes may vary in time frame. However, in cases where the review committee needs to consult external bodies (such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries), the EU Publications Office guidelines indicate that these sub-consultations can have deadlines of 15-30 days. It is unclear if the Stop Killing Games petition will require deliberation from these external bodies. The EU also strives to “minimize delays.”
During the petition’s review, EU citizens can likely view resulting public reports, debates and analyses before the parliament members come to a full decision.
Related Article: Pirate Software Leaves Off Brand Games as Stop Killing Games Reaches Goal
The European Union has a huge influence on gaming culture. Many significant developers and publishers are based in the region. Ubisoft, which recently came under fire when its CEO made controversial statements about Stop Killing Games, is a French company. EMEA also notoriously dominates many esports titles (for example, Counter-Strike 2). Organizations like Natus Vincere, Fnatic, Team Liquid and Team Vitality have become household names among gamers.
If the EU passes new consumer protections for gamers, the decision’s ripple effects could easily reach other areas like the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Since the legislation would affect such a large market and it is usually cheaper to standardize production, game developers could opt to follow Stop Killing Games’ standards even when selling to countries where it is not required.
