Owlcat Games has officially voiced support for the “Stop Killing Games” initiative, joining a growing movement advocating for gamers’ rights to access their purchased titles indefinitely. The studio behind RPGs like Pathfinder and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader released a public statement emphasizing their commitment to ensuring players retain access to games they’ve paid for, regardless of how much time has passed since release.
“Owlcat Games is committed to delivering a great experience — no matter how long it’s been since a game’s release,” the studio stated. “We believe every player deserves lasting access to the games they’ve paid for.” The company also encouraged players to learn more about the initiative and share their thoughts on the matter.
The Stop Killing Games (SKG) movement focuses on stopping digital games from becoming unplayable when publishers shut down servers or discontinue support. Rather than asking for maintenance forever, the initiative wants developers to build in fully offline modes or give players the tools to run their own servers once official support ends.
For Owlcat, backing this idea fits right in with how they make games. The studio mainly puts out single-player, offline RPGs that work just fine without any online connection. Their games—like Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader—are all on platforms such as GOG, where users can grab installers and actually save local backups.
Some fans have pointed out that Owlcat’s stance might come from their own issues in the past. The studio supposedly couldn’t update Pathfinder: Kingmaker because they lost the rights to their publisher, Deep Silver. Going through that could explain why they’re so invested in making sure players can always get to the games they’ve bought.
Even though it lines up with their usual approach to game design, Owlcat’s support for the initiative is still a big deal in a business where a lot of publishers aren’t talking much about saving older games. Huge companies usually shut down ideas around game preservation, especially for games that rely on keeping servers running or live-service content that keeps bringing in money.
The SKG movement is gaining traction as more and more games just stop working when publishers pull the plug on servers. Big-name examples include Ubisoft’s racing title The Crew, which couldn’t be played at all in 2023 even if you paid for it, plus plenty of older sports games from companies like EA.
Digital graves need no more flowers
Game preservation supporters are also calling for government action, especially in the European Union, to make sure publishers have to offer some way to keep games alive when they’re no longer supported. It’s pretty similar to other digital consumer rights pushes, like the “right to repair” and having to give refunds for broken digital products.
Owlcat coming out for the SKG initiative puts them among the first major studios to stand up for the idea. While industry associations usually don’t go for these kinds of efforts, individual game makers are starting to see how important it is for future players to be able to play what they made.
