GoKawiilThe Stop Killing Games campaign has been dealt a major setback in Europe, as the European Commission declined to propose legislation requiring publishers to keep discontinued video games playable.
The movement, formally submitted in the EU as the European Citizens’ Initiative “Stop Destroying Videogames,” was built around the idea that publishers should not be able to make games unplayable after ending official support, especially when those games were sold to customers as complete products.
In January, the initiative was confirmed to have secured 1,294,188 verified statements of support, passing the one million threshold required for the European Commission to formally examine it. It was later presented to the Commission in February, followed by a European Parliament hearing in April and a plenary debate in May.
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EU rejects Stop Killing Games’ key demand
In its official response on June 16, the Commission said it “cannot propose a legal obligation” requiring publishers to keep games playable after they stop being sold commercially.
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Instead, the Commission said it will begin discussions by the end of 2026 with the video game industry and consumer representatives to draft an industry code of conduct for managing games at the end of their life cycle.
The Commission’s full communication said a legal obligation to keep games playable, as requested by the initiative, “would not be proportionate.” It cited concerns about intellectual property rights, confidential business information, publisher costs, and potential cybersecurity or safety risks once games are no longer supported.
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