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The citizen petition, “Stop destroying the game,” has attracted more than 1.4 million signatures across the European Union.
It is believed that the European Commission will need to look into the petition and decide whether new laws are needed to enforce abolished online games for video game companies.
“This is a form of programmed obsolescence. Many video games have an online component. If this online component is disabled by a video game distributor rather than a publisher, the game cannot be played,” Daniel Onduska, president of the initiative, told Euronews.
He cites an example of the online racing game The Crew, launched in 2014 by the French company Ubisoft.
He condemns, in his view, growing practices that undermine consumer protection and destroy cultural heritage.
“What we’re asking is that when the game is paused, there’s a terminal plan where it remains reasonably playable. We don’t expect it to be fully playable with all options. But it’s not yet possible to say that the core of the game is still playable for those who have legally purchased it,” explained Ondruska.
“We’re not seeking intellectual property, we’re not asking for monetization, we’re not asking for reselling. The only thing is, when we buy a product, we want to use it.”
Video Games Europe
Video Game Europe, a lobby group for the video game industry, said in a July statement that it “must be an option for businesses” when online games are no longer “commercially viable.”
“We understand this is a shame for players, but when this happens, the industry will ensure that players receive reasonable notice of potential changes in accordance with local consumer protection laws,” the group said in a statement.
He added that storing video games on private servers is not an alternative as it does not protect data, remove illegal content, or fight against dangerous content.
When contacted for comments from Euronows, Video Game Europe rejected the request and instead introduced a press release.
Citizens’ Initiatives
The European citizens’ initiative, “Suspension of Games Destrawing Games,” was submitted on June 19, 2024 and launched on July 31, the same year.
It took a year for the European Union to collect 1 million signatures and reach the lowest threshold in at least seven member states.
The goal was reached on July 4th.
It has been in the verification phase since Monday. Member States currently have three months to verify the validity of their signature.
But there’s still a long way to go. Organizers must formally submit the initiative to the European Commission’s Review Committee. This will take six months to file a lawsuit and state whether they intend to present legislative proposals to the European Parliament.
If necessary, the text should still go through the process of adoption into EU law.
