Games as Cultural Assets: Time to Discuss the 'Right of Access'
The "Stop Killing Games" (Stop Destroying Videogames) campaign surpassed 700,000 signatures in 2025, officially entering EU-level policy review. The campaign, led by Digital Rights Group and European game preservation networks, advocates that online-based games should guarantee minimum accessibility and archiving rights even after service termination. The campaign originated from Ubisoft permanently terminating servers for "The Crew" (April 2024) — making a purchased game unplayable — framing this as a consumer rights, digital ownership, and game preservation issue beyond commercial strategy. The petition evolved into an EU Citizens' Initiative (ECI) in August 2024 under "Stop Destroying Videogames," eventually reaching 1.4 million signatures before verification, with the UK petition separately exceeding 100,000 signatures. Current EU status: the European Commission is preparing draft guidelines for guaranteeing cultural access rights to digital content. Key legislative arguments: (1) Digital purchase as access license vs. permanent ownership — the industry shift from physical media to live service games transformed "purchase" meaning without consumer notification; (2) Cultural heritage argument — games as 21st-century cultural artifacts deserving preservation parallel to books, films, and music; (3) Practical remedies sought — offline functionality requirements, private server legalization post-shutdown, or escrow of game source code for preservation organizations. Industry counter-arguments: operational costs of maintaining games indefinitely; security vulnerabilities in legacy code; creative control over when products are retired. The EU's engagement marks the first major regulatory body treating game preservation as a matter of digital cultural rights rather than pure consumer protection.
