Summary
A YouTuber has started a new European initiative to prevent the destruction of online titles, specifically targeting Ubisoft’sThe Crewin a new petition that requires a minimum of one million signatures to be acknowledged by the EU.The Crewwas just one of many multiplayer titles to be shut down and delisted this year, sparking outrage from the game’s active community.
The delisting and shutdown of multiplayer titles have become common occurrences in recent years, with even the most popular live-service titles likeKnockout Cityand the originalCall of Duty: Warzonehaving their servers taken offline. WhileKnockout Citydeveloper Velan Studios did release a private server edition of the game on Steam, not all games are as lucky. For fans of the classicBattlefieldtitles, EA is gearing up to remove three of the series' most popular entries from storefronts, as well as shutting down the official servers this November.
AfterUbisoft delistedThe Crewfrom all digital storefrontsearlier this year, YouTuber Ross Scott began a European citizens' initiative known asStop Killing Games. The aim is simple: stop publishers from shutting down online video games that have already been sold to customers. To do this, Ross and many other organizers are aiming to receive a minimum of one million petitions. If successful, the petition will then be examined by the appropriate authorities to determine whether or not a law should be put into place to preserve multiplayer games and prevent their destruction.
Petition Aims To Prevent Multiplayer Games From Being Shut Down
While the petition will only apply within the EU, many triple-a live service games, and even many indie games, are released globally. In a new YouTube video, Ross acknowledged that this petition would only impact the EU, but said that passing a law in such a major market will hopefully “spread, whether it’s law or not.” The organizer also noted that this petition is not attempting to get publishers to give up intellectual property rights or source code, or even offer endless post-launch support, it simply wants to prevent games from being shut down after consumers have already purchased them.
The Stop Killing Games website specifically calls action against Ubisoft for its handling ofThe Crew,which resulted in its sequel,The Crew 2,being review bombed on Steamafter the publisher announced that the original title would be delisted. The petition aims to “hold [the] publisher accountable” asThe Crewstill had a player base of 12 million users. Ross even intends to hold free-to-play titles liable, as players still lose access to paid microtransactions when games are taken offline.
The petition still has a long way to go, and there’s no guarantee that it will even be passed into law if it does reach the monumental milestone of one million signatures, but the attempt is certainly commendable. Withlive service games being shut down in the first year, there’s a clear problem that needs to be addressed when it comes to game preservation.
The Crew
WHERE TO PLAY
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