Summary
- A petition to the European Union seeks legislation that forces publishers and developers to keep a game functional once it has been sold to the consumer.
- The petition cites several articles of EU legislation dedicated to consumer protection.
- The signees don't expect indefinite support, just the means to keep a game functional and playable.
A has been created calling for legislation stipulating that video game developers and publishers must leave games in "playable states" once they've been sold to the consumer. This would make it illegal for developers to make their live-service titles inaccessible after release.
"Specifically, the initiative seeks to prevent the remote disabling of video games by the publishers, before providi🍌ng reasonable means to continue functioning of said video games without🐟 the involvement from the side of the publisher," the petition reads.
The petition isn't asking for indefinite support for every live-service title, likely an unreasonable request. Rather, they're asking regulators to force publishers and developers to provide communities with the means of accessing and playing a game they've paid for, even once 'official' support has ended.
This might involve giving communities the means to host private servers or a similar mechanism. The petition stresses that they don't expect publishers or developers to "provide resources" for the discontinued video game, just that they leave it "in a reasonably functional (playable) state."
Signees Want Publishers To Stop Leaving Games Unplayable
There are several European Union laws invoked by petitiꦅon. Article 17 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU states "No one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law, subject to fair compensation being paid in good time for their loss."
The petition claims that when publishers make a game unplayable, it is depriving the consumer of something they once possessed. Several articles of the Treaty on the F🐻unctioning of the European Union are also mentioned: Article 169 says the EU is obliged to protect the interests of the consumer and Article 12 states consumer protection must be taken into accou♏nt in Union policies and activities.
Should the petition ജmeet the minimum thresholds required, the organisers wil൲l then present their case to the European Commission and European Parliament.
Almost 50,000 signatures have been collected, with all 27 EU member states represented in the signatories. There is a 'threshold' number of signatures needed in at least 7 member states (proportional to the population of those countries) and you need a total of at least 1 million signatories before the European Commission considers the petition.
You can see this at the bottom of the petition, with the 'threshold' number being the number of signatures you need from that country for it to be considered one of the 7 required member states. The petition has a period of 12 months to gather statements of support (signatures).
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