Stop Killing Games (SKG) is a group of people who want to protect video games after they are no longer available online. It was started in 2024 by Ross Scott after Ubisoft, a game company, shut down The Crew, a racing game that needed an internet connection even though it was mostly played alone. SKG uses legal methods to encourage game companies to keep their games playable and working properly even after they stop supporting them. This challenges the trend in the video game industry of selling games as temporary agreements that companies can cancel at any time.
Stop Killing Games became widely known quickly, with coverage from many YouTubers and news sources. It received praise from celebrities, politicians, and game developers for addressing a long-standing issue in the video game industry. However, some people were uncertain, pointing out challenges such as problems with licensed and owned content and higher costs for game companies to preserve games.
Stop Killing Games has started several government petitions. The most well-known is a European Citizens' Initiative called Stop Destroying Videogames, which collected about 1.3 million valid signatures. Another petition in the UK Parliament gained enough support for an official debate, but it was decided that no changes to the law would be made.
Background
The Crew was a 2014 racing game created by Ubisoft Ivory Tower and Ubisoft Reflections and released by Ubisoft. The game required an internet connection at all times to play, even in single-player mode, because of its always-on digital rights management (DRM) system. On December 14, 2023, Ubisoft removed the game and its expansions from digital platforms, stopped selling microtransactions, and announced that the game’s servers would close on March 31, 2024, due to "upcoming server infrastructure and licensing constraints." The servers closed as planned on that date. When the shutdown was announced, Ubisoft provided refunds to people who had recently purchased The Crew, though the time frame for eligibility was not stated. In early April 2024, shortly after the shutdown, Ubisoft began removing access rights from players who had bought the game.
Ross Scott is a YouTuber best known for his machinima series Freeman’s Mind and for managing the channel Accursed Farms. He has criticized the practice of closing online-only games, calling it "harm to consumer rights and preservation of media." He compared it to movie studios during the silent film era "burning their own films after showing them to recover silver," noting that "most films from that time are lost forever." In 2019, Scott criticized the concept of "games as a service," calling it "fraud."
Overview
The main goal of Stop Killing Games is to stop video game companies from making games that people have bought impossible to play, especially by closing servers for online-only games. It does not require companies to support or update games forever. Instead, it suggests that games should remain playable after they are no longer supported, for example, by allowing players to play offline or host their own private servers. Scott explained that the group does not focus on games that are no longer available for sale but can still be played, or issues related to controlling how money is used. A key concern is that online-only games and their extra content are sold as purchases on game stores, even though companies can stop players from accessing them at any time, without giving a reason. This practice is common in the gaming industry and has not been tested in court.
Most online-only games become unplayable after they are no longer supported. Fewer games receive official fixes to allow offline play, even when players ask for it. Fan-made fixes often require a large group of people to create and maintain them, but they risk being removed by companies due to claims about copyright or trademarks. This problem has existed since the 2000s and has gotten worse over time because of systems that control how games are used and the decrease in options for private servers.
For many years, video games were often seen as toys for children or linked to geek culture. Because of this, lawmakers rarely considered issues about keeping games playable or recognized them as a form of art. Stop Killing Games aims to teach lawmakers about the artistic value of games and their importance as products. It highlights the need to preserve games and raises concerns about how companies may not give players full ownership of games, which could break consumer protection laws.
Stop Killing Games uses government programs and legal methods to push for rules that help preserve games. Countries with strong laws that protect consumers, such as France and Germany, are important for the group’s efforts. Other countries, like Brazil, are harder to work with because of a lack of sales data. The United States is not considered a good place for legal or political action, according to Scott, because of a court decision called ProCD, Inc. v. Zeidenberg.
Activities
In April 2024, after the shutdown of The Crew, Scott released a video titled "The largest campaign ever to stop publishers destroying games" on his YouTube channel. He introduced the campaign called Stop Killing Games and created a website for it. Scott also supported petitions, such as the UK Parliament petition and the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) in the European Union. The ECI collected more than 350,000 signatures in the first two months. The ECI was led by volunteers from across Europe, as listed below.
ECI Main representative:
ECI Substitute representative:
ECI Other organizers:
At the same time, Scott encouraged people to file complaints about The Crew’s shutdown with consumer protection groups, such as the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Protection in France and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in Australia. Later, the ECI was renamed Stop Destroying Videogames to avoid confusion with the topic of violence in games. The organizers of the initiative worked with members of the European Parliament, including Niklas Nienaß from the Green Party and Patrick Breyer from the Pirate Party.
The UK government responded to the Parliament petition, stating that UK law does not require software companies to support older versions of their operating systems or products. On May 30, 2024, the petition was paused due to the 2024 general election in the UK. A new petition was started, quickly gaining over 10,000 signatures, which met the requirement for a government response.
In February 2025, the UK government responded to the new petition, stating it had no plans to change consumer laws about digital obsolescence. However, the government noted that if companies claim games will remain playable indefinitely, the law may require that games stay playable under those conditions. In May 2025, Scott shared a spreadsheet listing online-only video games and their playability status. A report by Rock Paper Shotgun found that 68% of the 738 games listed were either unplayable or at risk of becoming unplayable. Only 16 games were saved by developers after being discontinued, while 110 were preserved by fans.
Although the ECI gained many signatures initially, it later stopped growing and reached about 450,000 signatures, which was 45% of the 1 million needed for the European Commission to act. In June 2025, Scott uploaded a video, expecting the initiative to fail, and said the problem was not getting gamers to care, but getting people to care about anything. Support for the initiative increased after the video was released.
On July 2, 2025, the UK Parliament petition reached 100,000 signatures, making it eligible for debate in Parliament. The next day, the ECI reached 1 million signatures, making it eligible for debate in the European Commission. However, Scott noted more signatures were needed to counteract invalid ones that might be removed. The UK petition closed on July 14, 2025, with 189,887 signatures. The ECI set a new goal of 1.4 million signatures, which was achieved on July 20, 2025. Scott also mentioned a cryptocurrency named Stop Killing Games, stating it was unrelated to him or the campaign and calling it a "scam."
On July 21, 2025, Scott uploaded a video explaining that a transparency complaint had been filed against the EU petition, accusing the campaign of not providing clear information about funding sources for the initiative. Scott denied the claim, stating he had no financial support for the EU petition and that organizers had been approved by EU representatives. He also said the EU petition was separate from the Stop Killing Games campaign and had its own organizers. While the complaint was anonymous, Scott suspected video game industry representatives were behind it.
On July 29, 2025, Scott encouraged viewers to submit feedback on the EU’s Digital Fairness Act public consultation. On July 31, 2025, the Stop Destroying Videogames ECI closed with about 1,448,271 signatures. Initial checks estimated 97% of the signatures were valid, making it likely the EU would address the petition. On August 4, Scott said the Stop Killing Games campaign had "changed the timeline" and noted that without it, The Crew would have been "just another shutdown." He also mentioned he had not played a game in months and planned a "standby break" from the campaign. On October 26, Stop Killing Games organizer Moritz Katzner shared updates on the ECI validation and the Digital Fairness Act, describing the latter as "record-breaking." He also said most game studios, especially in Europe, had listened to players and that game preservation was driven by a small group of people.
After the 2019 game Anthem shut down on January 12, 2026, the Stop Killing Games Twitter account said customers should decide when to stop playing a game, not companies. It used the phrase "one man’s trash is another man’s treasure" to address the game’s poor reputation. On January 26, 2026, the Stop Killing Games team announced the ECI verification phase was complete, with 1,294,188 valid signatures, or 89% of the total. The European Commission said it had until July 27, 2026, to discuss the initiative, hold a public hearing, and provide an official response.
On February 19, 2026, Scott announced the launch of two official Stop Killing Games non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the EU and the US. These groups aim to provide long-term support and a website for reporting delisted games to consumer agencies. The EU efforts are led by Moritz Katzner, a German political operative involved with Stop Killing Games since 2025. Scott also said the video game industry spends more on lobbyists than it would take to "fix their development process."
On February 23, 2026, a press conference was held in Brussels between Stop Killing Games and members of the EU Parliament. Markéta Gregorová, an MEP for the Greens–European Free Alliance, highlighted the impact of campaigning, mentioning the Chat Control proposal, which was criticized as invasive and inefficient despite initial support. She also
Reactions
In 2024, the Stop Killing Games introduction video became popular quickly and was reported by many gaming news sites and YouTubers. Streamer Jason Hall, who is known online as PirateSoftware, criticized Stop Killing Games in a video on his YouTube channel. Scott, the creator of the campaign, believes Hall’s response slowed the campaign’s progress. On June 23, 2025, after Hall refused to answer Scott’s questions, Scott publicly criticized Hall’s video, saying Hall did not understand the campaign’s purpose and misunderstood the initiative. Other YouTubers, such as Cr1TiKaL, supported Scott and shared similar criticisms of Hall.
Several well-known gaming content creators, including xQc, Asmongold, PewDiePie, and jacksepticeye, as well as consumer rights activist Louis Rossmann, supported the initiative. Nicolae Ștefănuță, a member of the European Parliament and its Vice-President, endorsed and signed the European Citizens’ Initiative. Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft, also supported the initiative. Owlcat Games, the studio behind Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, praised the initiative, saying, “Every player deserves lasting access to what they’ve paid for.” Alanah Pearce, a game journalist, interviewed 20 anonymous developers. While they questioned the petition’s clarity, all supported the movement and noted it might challenge current efforts to preserve video games.
Sergio Ferrera, an intellectual property lawyer and writer for Gamesindustry.biz, said the petition has good intentions but warned it “runs the risk of doing more damage than good.” He emphasized that real change requires proposals that reflect the realities of IP law, contract obligations, and server infrastructure. He noted the difficulty of converting server-dependent games to work offline and potential legal issues with licensed content and proprietary software. In July 2025, Video Games Europe, a trade group representing game developers and publishers in the European Union, said offering private servers or single-player modes for games losing online support would be too expensive and could create legal risks for companies.
Randy Pitchford, president and CEO of Gearbox Software, praised the movement, recalling the emotional experience of the shutdown of Battleborn. He said the movement’s activism comes from a desire to preserve meaningful experiences. Mark Darrah, a former BioWare employee and producer of the discontinued Anthem, said while he supports game preservation, he believes focusing on it might lead to worse experiences due to added costs. He noted that the Stop Killing Games initiative has consequences but believes some consequences may be worth accepting.
UFC-Que Choisir, a French consumer group, said the information provided about The Crew was too vague for average consumers to understand they only purchased the right to play the game. They are considering taking legal action. Maciej Gołębiewski, managing director of GOG Sp. z.o.o., called game preservation a “very complicated riddle,” noting challenges with ownership, technical aspects, and commercial viability. He warned that putting too many barriers on game creators might reduce the number of games made. Dino Patti, co-founder of Playdead, criticized online digital obsolescence, saying he bought The Crew but never had the chance to play it. He called the initiative a step in the right direction.
Ubisoft initially refused to comment on The Crew. After strong player backlash, partly driven by the Stop Killing Games initiative, Ubisoft promised to add an offline mode to The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest. The discontinued The Crew was not mentioned. In April 2025, Ubisoft released a video about the upcoming offline mode for The Crew 2, stating not all features would be available offline and that playtesting would begin on April 30. The offline mode was added to The Crew 2 in October 2025. Motorfest’s offline mode is still planned.
In July 2025, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot responded to a shareholder’s question about Stop Killing Games, saying the company provides information about how long games can be played and is “doing [their] best to make sure that things go well for all players and buyers.” He clarified that support for all games cannot last forever. The response was criticized by users and news sources, who pointed out that Stop Killing Games aims to ensure games remain playable after they are discontinued, not to demand endless support.
Debates
The UK Parliament petition debate occurred on November 3, 2025, and was broadcast live on the official UK Parliament YouTube channel. Members of Parliament discussed various topics. Pam Cox, the MP for Colchester, stated that current consumer protection laws are not strong enough and that video game publishers should allow players to keep or repair games even after they are no longer supported. Henry Tufnell, the MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, said that removing games deletes a cultural and artistic heritage that is important to society and the video game industry. He compared this to destroying every copy of a book, film, or song, which would be seen as a major loss. Mark Sewards, the MP for Leeds South West and Morley, compared ending support for games to turning off a printer remotely after it is no longer supported. He argued that publishers should offer reasonable ways for players to continue using games, such as through single-player modes or private servers.
The debate lasted about one hour. It was decided that no changes to the law would be made, but the government would work to ensure companies provide accurate information to consumers. Stephanie Peacock, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Sport, Media, Civil Society, and Youth, said:
The government understands the concerns raised but also recognizes challenges for the video game industry. She explained that requiring games to remain playable after support ends could harm game development. Some games could have offline modes added easily, but others designed for online play would need major changes to function offline. Creating end-of-life plans for all games would change how games are made and shared. While some people support this, it would not be simple or cheap to implement.
Although Katzner found the outcome disappointing, he noted that UK efforts are still active. After the debate, Morton Atkins, chairperson of the Green Party of England and Wales’ Aylesbury Vale branch, said he would encourage the party’s MPs, who were not present due to low numbers, to support the Stop Killing Games campaign.
The European Citizens’ Initiative was submitted to the European Commission in February 2026. A public hearing at the European Parliament took place on April 16, 2026. Committee vice chair Nils Ušakovs said the initiative is important to hundreds of millions of Europeans. Giuseppe Abbamonte, a copyright lawyer at the European Commission, said he would review copyright laws affecting the video game industry and report his findings in July. Ross Scott, who has criticized arguments against the initiative, spoke about how online-only games lack legal protections. He compared terms of service in these games to insurance policies that can be canceled by sellers without notice or refunds, calling such practices "scams."
Scott explained that publishers sell games as long-lasting products, like ones that never expire, and price them the same. If publishers announced plans to stop supporting a game, customers might pay less for it. He said the industry is trying to have it both ways, creating confusion. He also shared that 93.5% of 400 discontinued games became unusable. Scott welcomed solutions to preserve online games but emphasized that the movement focuses on protecting consumers, not forcing changes to business models, as long as publishers provide proper end-of-life support.
Effects
In September 2024, a new California law called AB 2426 was signed. This law requires digital storefronts to tell users what they are getting after making a transaction to access digital goods. It is not allowed to use the words "buy" or "purchase" if the user only receives a license that can be taken back at any time—a common practice for many digital storefronts. The law does not apply to games that can be played offline permanently. The law became active on January 1, 2025. Some sources linked the effects of this law to its signing. In October 2024, Steam added a notice stating that purchasing a game only gives a license, likely to follow the new California law. GOG.com, a digital storefront that does not use digital rights management, responded by displaying a banner that says its offline game installers "cannot be taken away."