The gamers taking on the industry to stop it switching off games

In the world of online video games, some already do. Publishers can decide to switch off a game's servers, often leaving it effectively unplayable.

Stop Killing Games, a growing consumer rights campaign started by American YouTuber Ross Scott in 2024, is challenging that practice.

In January, the group submitted a petition featuring nearly 1.3 million signatures to the European Commission, triggering a public hearing in the European Parliament in April . What began as an online campaign is now awaiting a decision from one of the EU's most powerful institutions.

Scott's campaign began following an announcement from the major studio Ubisoft, saying it would shut down the online-only racing game The Crew in 2024.

The French company said it was taking the game, which attracted more than 12 million players during its lifetime, offline, citing "upcoming server infrastructure and licensing constraints".

For players such as Chemicalflood, who told me he had been playing The Crew for nearly a decade, the move - which left the game unplayable - felt personal.

"I was around 18 at the time of the launch - it was a big part of my adult life growing up," he said. "It was a great escape from hardship at the time, so it has always been something special to me."

Over the years, he said, the game became something he shared with his children, who enjoyed exploring its virtual recreation of the United States.