The Stop Killing Games movement has hit a major milestone this past week as its initiative submitted to the EU Commission reached the required threshold for examination.
With the threshold met, the Stop Destroying Games Initiative will now be examined by the Commissions, with a reply required to be issued within six months.
Described within the initiative, the Stop Destroying Games lobby aims to make it a requirement for publishers selling or licensing video games in the EU to leave such games in a functional state, so as to prevent publishers from remotely disabling video games.
The initiative received over one million certified statements of support. Similar to a petition, a statement of support requires its signees to be a member of an EU state and express their reasoning for support.
The movement, called the Stop Destroying Games Initiative in its EU petition, aims to prevent publishers from making video games, particularly online live-service games, unplayable after support from the publisher ends.
The prime example is the open-world Ubisoft racing title, The Crew, which was discontinued in 2024. Boasting millions of players, it was shut down in a move to push players towards its sequels, The Crew 2, and The Crew Motorfest. Its closure sparked huge backlash against the publisher.
However, The Crew is just one of dozens of examples. EA and Ubisoft are perhaps the biggest culprits, with EA’s Anthem shuttering this year (January 2026), Dirt 3, and GRID 2. There have also been examples of titles being delisted or having support removed from older platforms, such as Xbox One and PS4, which many also see as an attempt at ‘killing games.’
The movement cites video game preservation, consumer rights, and other arguments as reasons for its push. Similar initiatives within other governance structures, such as a 2025 petition with the UK government, have unfortunately fallen flat, with the UK’s official stance being that existing consumer rights protections are enough.
This latest step, though, seems like a positive step. The European Commission is arguably one of the most powerful governance bodies in the world, with legislation like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) having a global impact.
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Featured Image Credit: European Commission
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