Stop Killing Games has largely put its weight behind an EU Citizen’s Initiative, and that seems to be paying off, as the movement to protect the ownership of video games has earned its first endorsement in the EU parliament.
The Stop Killing Games movement has continued on its recent win streak — previously surpassing the 1-million-signature mark needed for the EU Citizen’s Initiative petition to be considered by the EU parliament — with the EU Parliament Vice President and Greens/EFA group MEP for Romania, Nicolae Ștefănuță, voicing his support for the movement. In a recent post to the politician’s Instagram account, he said:
“I stand with the people who started this citizen initiative. I signed and will continue to help them. A game, once sold, belongs to the customer, not the company.” – Nicolae Ștefănuță via Stop Killing Games Official on X (translated)
The politician went on to say that he had signed the petition and was encouraging other EU residents to do the same. The petition has thus far reached over 1,358,605 signatures, overshooting the 1 million signature goal by 35% ahead of the July 31 deadline.
The main proponent and de facto leader of the Stop Killing Games movement, Ross Scott of the Accursed Farms YouTube channel, has previously mentioned that one of the reasons SKG is pushing so hard with politicians in the EU is because the EU has a long reputation of passing pro-consumer laws and that video games could be an “easy win” for politicians. The implication is that, compared to the usual matters discussed by politicians and lawmakers, Video Games are largely inconsequential, but supporting the initiative could earn politicians a lot of support from gamers.
As previously discussed, the main goal of the Stop Killing Games Movement is to force game publishers and developers to leave games in a playable state when it eventually becomes unsustainable to support them. This would likely mean designing multiplayer games in a way that allows for privately hosted servers, for example.
Support from the Vice President of the EU parliament is merely the one of the first steps in the movement’s foray into the EU parliament, but the official recognition by a prominent politician is a positive sign for the success of the movement and will likely help the movement gain more traction in the EU parliament once the petition is discussed by the rest of the European Union’s politicians.
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Julian van der Merwe – Senior News Writer – 1184 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2022
A lifelong techie with a love for open-source and an irresistible urge for tinkering and cracking stuff open to see how it ticks. Julian covers anything tech-related but has a particular fascination with mechanical keyboards, gaming, and quirky camera gear. With background in industrial design, Julian is familiar with the ins and outs of ergonomics, manufacturing, and materials, and he firmly believes that any tech not designed for people shouldn’t exist.
Julian van der Merwe, 2025-07-15 (Update: 2025-07-15)
