Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has publicly rejected the core demands of the European Union’s “Stop Killing Games” initiative, stating bluntly that “support can’t last forever” for online games. His comments come as the consumer protection campaign has gathered over 1.3 million signatures from gamers frustrated by publishers shutting down servers and rendering purchased games unplayable.
The “Stop Killing Games” initiative isn’t asking for eternal support but rather seeks to establish legal requirements for publishers to provide some form of continued access to games after online services end. This could include offline modes, private server options, or other preservation methods that would keep games functional for those who purchased them.
Guillemot framed server shutdowns as “an issue” affecting all publishers, not just Ubisoft. “Nothing is eternal,” he stated when discussing live service games, positioning the eventual end of support as an inevitable reality of the industry rather than a practice that could be changed.
Ubisoft has faced particular criticism in this area after shutting down servers for games like The Crew, which made even single-player content completely inaccessible. These actions have turned the publisher into something of a poster child for the preservation movement, highlighting the tension between companies treating games as temporary services and consumers who view their purchases as permanent products.
While firmly opposing any regulation requiring long-term game preservation, Guillemot did mention that Ubisoft is “working on a solution” to prevent future issues when games are delisted or servers go offline. However, he provided no specific details about what these solutions might entail or when they might be implemented.
The publisher arguments against the initiative usually focus on financial and technical burdens. Maintaining legacy infrastructure, dealing with licensed middleware from third parties, and sharing proprietary code all present challenges that companies like Ubisoft claim would be unsustainable.
Digital dust collectors
The “Stop Killing Games” campaign doesn’t apply to existing titles but focuses on requiring future games to include an “end-of-life” plan that ensures playability after official support ends. This distinction hasn’t stopped major publishers from lining up in opposition, concerned about potential impacts on their live service business models.
With more gamers rallying behind the initiative, it brings up some big questions about what it really means to own a game in the digital age: When you buy a game in 2023, what exactly are you getting—a product you can keep, or just a ticket to a service that might vanish without warning?
