The Stop Destroying Videogames Petition in the EU has reached its threshold in seven countries, getting closer to their goal of 1 million signatures. Read on to find out more about this petition!
Gamers Across Seven EU Countries Show Support
39% Of 1 Million Signatures Signed
EU gamers are on a roll as the Stop Destroying Video Games petition has reached its required threshold for signatures in seven countries, namely Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden, with some even surpassing their goal. This has brought the total number of signatories to 397,943, 39% of the 1 million signatures needed to pass the petition.
The Stop Destroying Video Games petition, registered earlier in June this year, is an initiative brought about by the increasing number of video games that are rendered inoperable and unplayable after support ends. To combat the prevalence of this problem with games disappearing after becoming abandonware, the petition is campaigning for a law that will force publishers, in the event that an online game is set for closure, to make sure that said game will still be in a playable state.
As quoted from the petition itself, "This initiative calls to require publishers that sell or license videogames to consumers in the European Union (or related features and assets sold for videogames they operate) to leave said videogames in a functional (playable) state. Specifically, the initiative seeks 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."
A well-known incident cited by the petition is on the Ubisoft open-world racing video game called The Crew, released back in 2014 and boasted a player base of at least 12 million players worldwide. Despite the active audience, Ubisoft shut down the game’s servers in March of 2024 due to server infrastructure and licensing issues, effectively wiping all progress made. This left its players outraged, with two gamers from California even suing the company for taking away the very rights to play the game that were paid for and this act violating Californian consumer protection laws.
With that being said, there is still quite a way to go until it reaches its 1 millionth mark. EU citizens of voting age can go ahead and check out the website to support the initiative, and have until July 31st, 2025 to do so. Although gamers from other countries not in the EU cannot sign, they can help by spreading the word to those who may be interested in supporting the cause.
Source:
Stop Killing Games Website
Stop Destroying Videogames Petition
Ubisoft sued for shutting down The Crew, Polygon
