The Stop Killing Games initiative has reached the crucial 1 million signatures milestone in its quest to preserve video games for decades to come, but its fight isn’t over yet.
The self-described consumer movement soared past the goal yesterday, July 3, cementing its status as an impressive petition in gaming history and a movement that has plenty of gas left in the tank. It’s all in the name of protecting the video games players love – and even the ones they don’t – as the industry steadily marches toward a digital future.
A lot of games we buy today are built to just stop working when the publisher pulls the plug on em. It needs to stop. If you are EU citizen please consider signing #stopkillinggames initiative. https://t.co/vlyIEXcpnh pic.twitter.com/nsTusFyGrL
— Pat_ (@Pat8_8) July 2, 2025
Social media feeds have since filled with reactions from supporters praising an operation that could help save multiplayer and single-player games for future generations. While gamers take to the internet to celebrate, spokesperson and organizer Ross Scott says reaching 1 million signatures is good news but far from a victory.
“OK, the breaking news: The European Citizens’ Initiative has crossed 1 million signatures – except it hasn’t,” Scott said in a video update uploaded yesterday. “This is going to kill morale, but there are two things going on here. The first we knew was coming. Every time somebody makes a mistake when they sign the Initiative, their signature gets invalidated. So that means we need more signatures to make up for everybody’s mistakes.”
It’s an important variable in the equation on the road to 1 million legitimate Stop Killing Games endorsements, and it’s just one flaw to consider. The other involves reports Scott has received regarding fabricated signatures that could be artificially inflating the initiative’s progress.
“First off, I want to say that this is not a Change.org petition,” Scott adds. “This is a government process. Spoofing signatures on it is a crime. Please do not do this. They’ll be checked later by the EU commission, and my guess is the fake ones will get turned over to the Europol or Interpol, and they’ll follow up on this.”
To anyone who made a mistake or isn’t sure if they signed the EU initiative already, you can contact the official spokesperson (Daniel Ondruska) and he can direct you on how to reach the EU to sort it out. His contact is on the page under “more info”https://t.co/EpnNTDR85U
— Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) July 4, 2025
To account for what could be a significant number of invalid Stop Killing Games signatures, the initiative has altered its ideal goal to be 1.4 million signatures. At the time of this story’s publication, Stop Killing Games has reached 1.07 million endorsements ahead of its July 31 end date.
“So, yeah, that sucks,” Scott continued. “We’ll just keep plodding away unless we can figure out what the safe numbers are. Sorry this isn’t a big victory celebration. This is just kind of suspenseful and tense instead, and will probably hurt the morale of people signing.”
Save States
Scott, who has created gaming content via his Accursed Farms YouTube channel for more than a decade, launched Stop Killing Games in April 2024 as a direct response to Ubisoft’s decision to shut down its popular open-world racing game, The Crew. The movement aims to create a ripple effect that could shake the industry into keeping games online long after players lose interest.
It means everything from The Crew to Concord could theoretically remain online to enjoy should the initiative amass enough public complaints to see the European Commission pass a law protecting consumer rights. Ideally, players could see live-service and multiplayer titles like BioWare’s Anthem, which was given a shutdown schedule just yesterday, could continue on in some form should a publisher decide to sunset support. Success could also mean single-player games that rely on online components, such as Death Stranding or Dark Souls, could remain intact, too.
WEAK
I know Anthem got panned, but it’s another example of one that seems like it had a cool looking world to run around in. I was interested in trying it out and keeping my expectations low. Yet another example of why SKG is so needed.https://t.co/fDsq0ZsP8K
— Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) July 3, 2025
Stop Killing Games wants to save the art that developers pour their hearts into while protecting consumers who prefer to access games they’ve already paid for, and it’s a movement that hundreds of thousands of game players are already supporting. Following its promising launch last year, however, the initiative struggled to maintain the support it needed to push its way through to the eyes that needed to see it.
Stop Killing Games’ chances at a successful campaign became so dire that Scott went as far as to publish a video titled “The end of Stop Killing Games” just last week. In the hour-long explainer piece, Scott listed a lack of exposure as one primary cause behind the lack of support. It was the Hail Mary the initiative needed, though, as prominent YouTubers like Jacksepticeye, penquinz0/Cr1TiKaL, Ludwig, and more were quick to voice their support with their own videos.
All within the weeks since Scott shared his concerns, Stop Killing Games has gained hundreds of thousands of signatures, resulting in a solid chunk of the more than 1 million names attached to the movement today. Success remains uncertain even if Scott is able to reach that magic 1.4 million number, with even more uncertainty lying on the other side of that goal post. Still, as outlined by Scott on the Stop Killing Games website, he feels optimistic about the future of game preservation if the signature goal is met.
“If we can pass the signature threshold,” Scott says, “there is a very strong chance that the European Commission will pass new law that will both protect consumer rights to retain video games that customers have purchased and advance preservation efforts massively.”
Should the word get out to enough interested individuals, players could see somewhat of a return to the days when buying a game came with the assurance that it would remain playable regardless of post-launch interference. We’ll have all of the updates here at IGN, but in the meantime, you can read up on our coverage of Stop Killing Games’ launch here. You can also check out the other goals Stop Killing Games has managed to achieve in the past year. You can also learn about how digital PC storefront GOG is doing its part when it comes to game preservation.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
