Last month, the European Commission promised it would respond to the Stop Killing Games campaign which aims to enshrine more protections against online game server shutdowns into law. This response has now arrived and, essentially, it is not the outcome Stop Killing Games was looking for.
As detailed in a press releasethe European Commission explained that “at this stage it cannot propose a legal obligation to keep video games playable after they stop being marketed. This is also due to existing intellectual property rights.” That doesn’t mean they don’t do anything, though. The Commission noted two points in how it plans to “address players’ concerns”.
Firstly, they “will initiate an exchange with the video game industry and consumer representatives with the aim of developing an industry code of conduct on the management of the “end of life” of video games”. In the second case, they plan to “work with consumer organizations and authorities to raise awareness of applicable rights that protect consumers, including on guarantees protecting consumers’ economic interests.”
On Dwitter, Stop Killing Games explained that “this decision was not unexpected,” but that doesn’t mean they won’t do anything either, as they also note “we were prepared.” Their current plan is to lobby the European Parliament to add an amendment to the Digital Equity Act with the same goal as before. For some context, the Digital Fairness Act is legislation in the works that aims to combat issues like addictive app and game design, manipulative interface design, and other issues.
Last month, a California bill supported by Stop Killing Games was passed by the state Assembly, which, if implemented, would mean that publishers would either have to provide a full refund or a playable version of the game in question if they shut down the official servers. But it’s not yet a foolproof thing, with the main politician behind the bill admitting how difficult it will be to enforce.
