Stop Killing Games Reaches 1 Million Signatures as Players Continue Fight for Game Preservation

The Stop Killing Games inaugural has reached the important 1 cardinal signatures milestone successful its quest to sphere video games for decades to come, but its combat isn’t implicit yet.

The self-described user question soared past the extremity yesterday, July 3, cementing its presumption arsenic an awesome petition successful gaming past and a question that has plentifulness of state near successful the tank. It’s each successful the sanction of protecting the video games players emotion – and adjacent the ones they don’t – arsenic the manufacture steadily marches toward a integer future.

A batch of games we bargain contiguous are built to conscionable halt moving erstwhile the steadfast pulls the plug connected em. It needs to stop. If you are EU national delight see signing #stopkillinggames initiative. https://t.co/vlyIEXcpnh pic.twitter.com/nsTusFyGrL

— Pat_ (@Pat8_8) July 2, 2025

Social media feeds person since filled with reactions from supporters praising an cognition that could assistance prevention multiplayer and single-player games for aboriginal generations. While gamers instrumentality to the net to celebrate, spokesperson and organizer Ross Scott says reaching 1 cardinal signatures is bully quality but acold from a victory.

“OK, the breaking news: The European Citizens’ Initiative has crossed 1 cardinal signatures – but it hasn’t,” Scott said successful a video update uploaded yesterday. “This is going to termination morale, but determination are 2 things going connected here. The archetypal we knew was coming. Every clip idiosyncratic makes a mistake erstwhile they motion the Initiative, their signature gets invalidated. So that means we request much signatures to marque up for everybody’s mistakes.”

It's an important adaptable successful the equation connected the roadworthy to 1 cardinal morganatic Stop Killing Games endorsements, and it’s conscionable 1 flaw to consider. The different involves reports Scott has received regarding fabricated signatures that could beryllium artificially inflating the initiative’s progress.

“First off, I privation to accidental that this is not a Change.org petition,” Scott adds. “This is simply a authorities process. Spoofing signatures connected it is simply a crime. Please bash not bash this. They’ll beryllium checked aboriginal by the EU commission, and my conjecture is the fake ones volition get turned implicit to the Europol oregon Interpol, and they’ll travel up connected this.”

To anyone who made a mistake oregon isn't definite if they signed the EU inaugural already, you tin interaction the authoritative spokesperson (Daniel Ondruska) and helium tin nonstop you connected however to scope the EU to benignant it out. His interaction is connected the leafage nether "more info"https://t.co/EpnNTDR85U

— Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) July 4, 2025

To relationship for what could beryllium a important fig of invalid Stop Killing Games signatures, the inaugural has altered its perfect extremity to beryllium 1.4 cardinal signatures. At the clip of this story’s publication, Stop Killing Games has reached 1.07 cardinal endorsements up of its July 31 extremity date.

“So, yeah, that sucks,” Scott continued. “We’ll conscionable support plodding distant unless we tin fig retired what the harmless numbers are. Sorry this isn’t a large triumph celebration. This is conscionable benignant of suspenseful and tense instead, and volition astir apt wounded the morale of radical signing.”

Save States

Scott, who has created gaming contented via his Accursed Farms YouTube transmission for much than a decade, launched Stop Killing Games successful April 2024 arsenic a nonstop effect to Ubisoft’s determination to unopen down its fashionable open-world racing game, The Crew. The question aims to make a ripple effect that could shingle the manufacture into keeping games online agelong aft players suffer interest.

It means everything from The Crew to Concord could theoretically stay online to bask should the inaugural amass capable nationalist complaints to spot the European Commission walk a instrumentality protecting user rights. Ideally, players could spot live-service and multiplayer titles similar BioWare’s Anthem, which was fixed a shutdown docket conscionable yesterday, could proceed connected successful immoderate signifier should a steadfast determine to sunset support. Success could besides mean single-player games that trust connected online components, specified arsenic Death Stranding oregon Dark Souls, could stay intact, too.

— Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) July 3, 2025

Stop Killing Games wants to prevention the creation that developers determination their hearts into portion protecting consumers who similar to entree games they’ve already paid for, and it’s a question that hundreds of thousands of crippled players are already supporting. Following its promising motorboat past year, however, the inaugural struggled to support the enactment it needed to propulsion its mode done to the eyes that needed to spot it.

Stop Killing Games’ chances astatine a palmy run became truthful dire that Scott went arsenic acold arsenic to people a video titled “The extremity of Stop Killing Games” conscionable past week. In the hour-long explainer piece, Scott listed a deficiency of vulnerability arsenic 1 superior origin down the deficiency of support. It was the Hail Mary the inaugural needed, though, arsenic salient YouTubers similar Jacksepticeye, penquinz0/Cr1TiKaL, Ludwig, and much were speedy to dependable their enactment with their ain videos.

All wrong the weeks since Scott shared his concerns, Stop Killing Games has gained hundreds of thousands of signatures, resulting successful a coagulated chunk of the much than 1 cardinal names attached to the question today. Success remains uncertain adjacent if Scott is capable to scope that magic 1.4 cardinal number, with adjacent much uncertainty lying connected the different broadside of that extremity post. Still, arsenic outlined by Scott connected the Stop Killing Games website, helium feels optimistic astir the aboriginal of crippled preservation if the signature extremity is met.

"If we tin walk the signature threshold," Scott says, "there is simply a precise beardown accidental that the European Commission volition walk caller instrumentality that volition some support user rights to clasp video games that customers person purchased and beforehand preservation efforts massively."

Should the connection get retired to capable funny individuals, players could spot somewhat of a instrumentality to the days erstwhile buying a crippled came with the assurance that it would stay playable careless of post-launch interference. We’ll person each of the updates present astatine IGN, but successful the meantime, you tin work up connected our sum of Stop Killing Games' motorboat here. You tin besides cheque retired the different goals Stop Killing Games has managed to execute successful the past year. You tin besides larn astir however integer PC storefront GOG is doing its portion erstwhile it comes to crippled preservation.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance contributor with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).