Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated that, while support for older online games is an issue that the publisher is aware of in light of the ongoing Stop Killing Games initiative, he said that “nothing is eternal” when it comes to maintaining live services. The Ubisoft chief executive was asked about the Stop Killing Games campaign, which was launched following Ubisoft’s shutdown of The Crew.
The Stop Killing Games movement has garnered both supporters and detractors since its inception in April 2024 by content creator Ross Scott following The Crew‘s shutdown. The movement has since drawn the ire of AAA companies like EA, who criticized the feasibility of maintaining older games and the potential security risks associated with users hosting individual servers. However, the Stop Killing Games campaign also gained the support of Nicolae Stefanuta, Vice President of the European Parliament, following a successful petition that garnered over 1.350,000 signatures needed to become an EU Citizens’ Initiative to be presented before the European Commission. Signature submission remains open to all EU citizens until July 31.
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During a shareholders’ meeting that saw Ubisoft confronted over Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the company’s lead executive shared his thoughts about the ongoing Stop Killing Games movement. As reported by Game File (and corroborated by PC Gamer), Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated that video game publishers consistently deal with the challenge of ending live services. Guillemot said, “You provide a service, but nothing is written in stone and at some point the service may be discontinued. Nothing is eternal.” Guillemot pointed out that, before The Crew was shut down in 2024, its sequel was temporarily on sale for $1 as a way for fans to continue playing the series.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot Addresses Stop Killing Games Campaign
Though Stop Killing Games has been criticized by groups like Video Games Europe, who claim that continuous support for games would curtail developers from making their own choices, the initiative has long stated that it is not against publishers ending support whenever they want. According to Stop Killing Games’ FAQ section, “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.”
Guillemot stated that Ubisoft is still working towards getting an offline mode for The Crew 2 ready to launch by the end of 2025, though he offered no release dates or windows about the process. While Ubisoft’s shutdown of The Crew was what started the Stop Killing Games movement in the first place, only time will tell how the campaign will fare before the European Commission.
Ubisoft is a well-known video game developer and publisher with a main headquarters in Saint-Mandé, France. Current CEO Yves Guillemot runs an array of teams responsible for some of the most iconic and well-known series in video games, with franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Farcry, The Crew, Just Dance, and more. Ubisoft also acts as a parent company for an array of other video game developers, including names like Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft Paris, Blue Mammoth Games, Red Storm Entertainment, and more.
