The Stop Killing Games European Citizens’ Initiative has officially crossed the required threshold, with nearly 1.3 million verified signatures confirmed by the EU.
As a result, EU lawmakers are now required to formally examine the issue of server shutdowns that can render online-only games permanently unplayable.
What is Stop Killing Games Campaign
Stop Killing Games (also known as Stop Destroying Videogames) is a European citizens’ initiative calling for stronger protections for video game preservation after the end of technical and server support.
The initiative’s authors and supporters argue that players retain digital ownership of the games they purchase, and that shutting them down once servers are closed runs counter to consumer rights. They are calling on publishers to plan end-of-life solutions that keep games playable in some form, such as through offline modes.
The initiative has secured 1,294,188 verified signatures, comfortably surpassing the one million required for the petition to be formally reviewed by the European Commission.
Signatures Breakdown
In a Reddit post, petition volunteer Moritz Katzner shared additional context around the decision to publish the final signature count earlier than planned. He noted that “things are moving quite fast right now,” making it necessary to release the official figures ahead of schedule. Originally, the team had planned to wait until shortly before their next meeting with the EU Commission, but growing momentum around the initiative prompted a change in approach.
Katzner added that this momentum has also led volunteers to take concrete steps, including launching a new website, restructuring the project’s Discord server, and preparing other updates that cannot yet be disclosed. He emphasized that these actions are being taken carefully to minimize the risk of information leaks and to avoid putting unnecessary strain on the volunteer team.
The signature breakdown shows that three countries contributed the largest totals:
- Germany – 233,180
- France – around 145,000
- Poland – approximately 144,000
It is also worth noting that the Stop Killing Games petition has one of the lowest rates of invalid signatures compared to other European citizens’ initiatives – around 10 percent, whereas similar campaigns often see invalidation rates of 15 percent or even as high as 20 to 25 percent.
Anthem Shutdown
While the group awaits meetings with EU representatives – a process that is expected to take time – Stop Killing Games has already taken action in response to the high-profile shutdown of BioWare’s online-only title Anthem, which occurred earlier this year.
The initiative has prepared detailed instructions for Anthem players in France and Germany, explaining how to report the shutdown to relevant consumer rights organisations: UFC-Que Choisir in France and Verbraucherzentrale in Germany.
The group has two goals: to help affected players seek refunds for Anthem, and to begin establishing a broader system for reporting online-only games shutdown once servers are taken offline.
Video-games Long-term Preservation
The EU videogame petition forms part of a broader, ongoing debate around live service games, service dependency, and long-term video game preservation. The campaign has already attracted political attention and has been discussed in the UK Parliament.
Additionally, a faction within the UK Green Party is seeking to formally compel its MPs to support the Stop Killing Games campaign by proposing a policy amendment to be voted on at the party’s next conference.
If taken forward, the Stop Killing Games initiative could influence future regulation around how publishers discontinue online games, potentially introducing clearer refund rules or legal obligations to keep titles playable in some form after server shutdowns. More broadly, the campaign highlights the growing influence of grassroots gaming communities in shaping digital policy.
Those communities can be ordinary players, acting on their own initiative, like fans, online communities or mod creators.
Conclusion
With the initiative now meeting the required threshold, the next steps involve formal engagement with the European Commission, which will assess the proposal and determine whether legislative action should follow. Stay tuned for any updates in the case.