“Stop Killing Games” is a citizens’ initiative submitted to the European Commission by campaigners who oppose publishers disabling online features in many video games, making them unplayable even for people who have purchased them. Polish members of the European Parliament argue that such actions by producers amount to an unfair practice and that EU law should take seriously the demands of European gamers.
“Anyone who has played a computer game at least once knows that, very often, when technical support stops working, the game also stops working. At that point, in practice, you may have to buy the same game again. Players say this is unfair. They have collected nearly 1.3 million signatures and are asking the European Commission to resolve the issue, change the law and oblige game producers not to do this,” said Dariusz Joński, Member of the European Parliament from Poland’s Civic Coalition.
The “Stop Killing Games” initiative was submitted to the European Commission on 26 January 2026 after receiving 1,294,188 verified statements of support. The highest number of signatures came from Germany, with 233,180. France ranked second with 145,289 signatures, followed by Poland with 143,826. The organisers are calling for publishers that sell or license video games, or related features and assets for supported games, in the European Union to be required to leave them in a playable state.
The initiative was presented in the European Parliament on 16 April this year during a public hearing organised by three committees: IMCO, JURI and PETI. The organisers had the opportunity to present detailed information on their proposals. MEPs asked the European Commission what action it could take in response to the initiative. The Commission has until 27 July 2026 to respond.
“A citizens’ initiative has emerged, supported by more than one million signatures, concerning the fact that people who bought games and considered them their own are suddenly losing access to them. EU solutions should be very transparent for both producers and consumers, and this citizens’ initiative signals a problem that we should solve. We will therefore ask the European Commission to address this issue, because if millions of people submit a petition, it is worth explaining to them what the situation is and why they suddenly lose access to something they honestly purchased,” said Bogdan Rzońca, chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions.
The organisers of the initiative emphasise that more and more publishers sell video games that require an internet connection to the publisher or communication with the producer in order to function. When support for such games ends, publishers often terminate the connection required for the title to operate and introduce broad measures preventing customers from repairing it themselves. The initiative aims to prevent the remote disabling of games and calls for alternative ways to access and play them without the direct involvement of the publisher when support has ended or the game has been shut down.
“If you buy a game once, it should work all the time, until the moment when someone no longer wants to use it,” said Dariusz Joński. “If so many consumers are putting forward this initiative, it means there is a real issue and it needs to be regulated. Good companies that produce computer games will defend themselves on quality. They do not need to charge twice for one game — once should be enough. Games often cost PLN 200–300, and better titles can be even more expensive, so these are not small costs. The point is that players should not pay twice.”
The organisers also point out that preventing customers from using a product previously sold to them is not something that happens in other industries. In their view, licence agreements required for games to function bypass a number of existing consumer protection measures. They argue that this practice challenges the very concept of ownership, because after purchasing a game, the customer may be left with nothing. In their opinion, this is a practice that violates consumer rights.
“When it comes to the problem of how games function on the European market, we must recognise the arguments of both game producers and consumers. There has to be some balance,” said Bogdan Rzońca.
The reports “Different Faces of the Polish Gamer” from 2023 and 2025 indicate that the gaming community in Poland numbers between 17 million and 20 million people. This is therefore far from a niche phenomenon. Players value the challenges offered by games, the opportunity to improve their skills and the sense of achievement. Competition with other players, interaction and a sense of belonging to a larger community of enthusiasts of a given title are also important motivations. At the same time, players are often reluctant to admit how much time they spend gaming or how much money they allocate to buying games.
