Stop Killing Games Petition Sparks Fiery Parliament Debate But Is It Game Over?

The Stop Killing Games movement, which ramped up after Ubisoft shut down The Crew, has been steadily gaining support, with its petition garnering over a million signatures from citizens throughout the European Union. There are similar efforts happening in individual countries as well, including the United Kingdom, which officially brought the matter for debate on the floor of Parliament.

Stephanie Peacock, the minister for sport, tourism, civil society and youth shared that the government has no plans to change the status quo. She pointed to the potential burden it would place on companies to retool online only games for offline play, and the pitfalls of turning the keys over to fans for continued support. Although she did concede that “companies may need to communicate better" about what consumers should expect when they purchase a game.

While the government’s position isn’t going to change, several Members of Parliament (MP) provided rebuttals in support of the Stop Killing Games campaign.


Labour MP for Leeds South West and Morley, Mark Sewards, said that what’s being asked by the movement’s supporters is fair and reasonable. He says that a “publisher should have a duty to ensure that the game, purchased and owned by the consumer, remains playable in some way.”

Another Labour MP, Warinder Juss of Wolverhampton West, added to the pushback, pointing out that it wouldn’t be acceptable for a product such as a mobile phone to just no longer work if a company isn’t actively supporting it. “So why should we allow thousands of pounds worth of games being made unplayable because new games have been introduced?”

While the bulk of the debate revolved around consumers’ rights, there was also a nod to the importance of game preservation. South Norfolk MP Ben Goldsborough said that “where a game has no commercial future, studios should be encouraged or supported to preserve assets for cultural history.”

It isn’t the result supporters of the Stop Killing Games movement hoped for, but that it has been debated on the floor of Parliament and was backed by several MPs at all is still a big win that could open the door for the implementation of some of its policy proposals in the future.