A major petition demanding better protection for online games has reached 1.25 million signatures across the European Union.
Called Stop Killing Games, the campaign asks EU lawmakers to stop companies from deleting games that rely on online servers. When these servers are shut down, the games stop working — even if people paid for them.
Campaign organisers say this “robs customers of their purchases” and “destroys creative history”, calling it an attack on consumer rights.
Under EU rules, any petition with at least one million valid signatures from seven member states forces the European Commission to consider it. The Stop Killing Games petition passed that mark before its deadline in July.
Organisers Aleksej Vjalicin and Daniel Ondruska launched the campaign after Ubisoft shut down The Crew, a popular racing game with 12 million players.
Although 1.25 million people signed the petition, the EU must now check that all signatures are valid before moving forward.
If approved, the Commission will meet the organisers, then decide whether to propose new laws. Any legislation would take time and need approval from the European Parliament.
The petition calls for game companies to prepare an “end-of-life” plan before switching off servers, so games remain playable. It also asks for protection of purchased in-game features.
However, industry group Video Games Europe warned that these demands could cause technical problems and harm intellectual property rights.
Few EU petitions have reached this stage, making this one a major test for digital consumer rights.
