tech
'They kill games, we fight back': the activists campaigning to keep video games playable
When a company decided to shut down an online game’s servers, there wasn’t much the players who had bought that title could do – until a group called Stop Killing Games began lobbying for new consumer protection laws
TL;DR
- Stop Killing Games is a movement lobbying for consumer protection laws to prevent publishers from shutting down online video game servers.
- The group advocates for 'end-of-life plans' to keep games playable, such as allowing players to operate private servers.
- The movement has pursued legal and legislative avenues, including a European Citizens' Initiative petition, a lawsuit over 'The Crew', and a successful petition for a UK parliament debate.
- The European Commission stated it cannot impose a legal obligation to keep games playable but will work with publishers on a 'code of conduct'.
- California's Protect Our Games act, which requires advance notice before taking a game offline and mandates ways for players to keep accessing it, passed the Assembly and moves to the state senate.
- The Entertainment Software Association opposes such requirements, arguing they would create an 'impossible situation' for publishers and stifle the creation of new games.