Stop Killing Games Campaign Falls Short as Deadline Nears
Published On: July 2, 2025
The Stop Killing Games movement, started by YouTuber Ross Scott, is nearing its end as petitions in the EU and UK fail to meet their targets. Created in response to Ubisoft shutting down The Crew, an online-only racing game that became unplayable after April 1, 2024, the initiative aimed to fight back against what it called the unnecessary destruction of digital game access.
Scott’s campaign began under the name Stop Destroying Videogames before rebranding to Stop Killing Games. Its goal was to pressure lawmakers to introduce legal safeguards that would prevent publishers from permanently pulling games from access, especially when alternatives exist to keep them playable in some form. Suggestions included enabling local server support or maintaining offline play when online services end.
The heart of the campaign has been two formal petitions, one to the European Union and one to the UK government. The EU petition requires one million signatures to trigger parliamentary attention; the UK petition needs 100,000. As of this week, the EU petition stands at around 643,000, while the UK version lingers below 46,000. With the UK deadline set for July 14 and the EU’s for July 31, both efforts remain far from their targets.
In a recent video titled The End of Stop Killing Games, Scott reflected on the campaign’s shortcomings. He acknowledged that while the movement isn’t unpopular, he no longer believes he’s the best person to lead it forward. He also addressed misconceptions surrounding the initiative, clarifying that its goals were never about demanding lifelong developer support, but rather preserving basic functionality so that players could still access games they’ve paid for.
Scott’s call sparked a wave of renewed support. Several large YouTube creators highlighted the issue, adding visibility and boosting the EU petition by nearly 200,000 new signatures. Despite that bump, time is running out.
The broader issue extends beyond online-only games. A 2023 study by the Video Game History Foundation in the U.S. found that 87% of video games released before 2010 are no longer commercially available. Out of 1,500 titles reviewed, the majority were effectively lost, highlighting the growing preservation crisis in gaming.
With no legal way to access many of these titles, piracy has quietly become one of the only effective tools for preservation. Fan communities often step in to archive, crack, and share games that would otherwise be lost entirely. In many cases, this is the only reason older games remain playable at all, especially when publishers show no interest in re-releasing or remastering them. While technically illegal in most regions, this kind of piracy is widely seen by preservationists and gamers alike as a necessary response to industry neglect. When 87% of games released before 2010 are no longer commercially available, preserving access often falls to individuals who are willing to bypass legal channels to keep gaming history alive.
Supporters aren’t expecting publishers to maintain games indefinitely. Instead, they want laws that require publishers to provide options for continued access. In some cases, that could mean releasing a local network mode or unlocking offline features if a game’s servers are shut down.