Stop Killing Games
Stop Killing Games (SKG) is a campaign intended to spread awareness regarding publishers revoking licenses for consumers and removing game functionality so that they are no longer in a playable state. The campaign was announced on April 2, 2024 by Accursed Farms, better known as Ross W. Scott, an American YouTuber and consumer activist who is best known for his Freeman's Mind series.
Campaign history
On April 2, 2024, Accursed Farms posted the video "The largest campaign ever to stop publishers destroying games"[1]. In the video, Ross Scott explains the issue with modern gaming, where video game publishers often take advantage of laws.
UK Parliament petition
On April 16, 2024, a UK Parliament petition titled "Require videogame publishers to keep games they have sold in a working state"[2] began collecting signatures. The petition intended to create laws to prevent publishers from removing the ability to play games after purchase. The petition was subsequently closed on May 30, 2024 due to the UK general elections[2], preventing further signatures. It reached 27,341 signatures and was originally scheduled to close on October 16, 2024[3].
On January 14, 2025, Lewis Evans created a petition titled "Prohibit publishers irrevocably disabling video games they have already sold"[4] closely following the prematurely closed petition in 2024. It is yet to receive a government response and is due for one on January 30.
European Citizens' Initiative
On June 19, 2024, "Stop Destroying Videogames"[5] was registered as a European Citizens' Initiative by Daniel Ondruska. A month and a half later, on July 31, 2024, the initiative began collecting signatures. Accursed Farms later posted the video "Europeans can save gaming!"[6] on the same day, encouraging European citizens to sign the initiative. The deadline of the initiative is on July 31, 2025, and as of January 24, 2025, there are over 400,000 signatures.
- ↑ "The largest campaign ever to stop publishers destroying games" Accursed Farms. April 2, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Require videogame publishers to keep games they have sold in a working state" UK Parliament Petitions. December 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ↑ "UK government responds to Stop Killing Games campaign" Games Industry. May 15, 2024. Retrieved on January 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Prohibit publishers irrevocably disabling video games they have already sold" UK Parliament Petitions. January 14, 2025. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Stop Destroying Videogames" European Citizens' Initiative. 19 July, 2024. Retrieved on January 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Europeans can save gaming!" Accursed Farms. July 31, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2025.