Stop Killing Games: Where Does the Industry REALLY Stand?
- J-dawg
- Jul 16
- 12 min read
Updated: Jul 21
Current Events - Gamer Life Memo: Gauging industry reaction
By Jdawg
At 1.33 million signatures as of 7/14, (which you may keep track of here,) the Stop Killing Games petition to the EU commission is a wild, runaway success.
As evident in their response, industry groups like Video Games Europe are opposed to changes to the status-quo and will resist efforts to reform the way companies are operating. The lobbying organization issued the above Position Paper on the Citizen's Initiative underway in Europe, delivering a series of less-than-credible objections to the measure's aims—which we tackled item-by-item in our reply, published here.
Whether it is providing games or game services to the general public in Europe, or any of the other major gaming companies located around the world, it is unlikely that industry will choose to embrace the turn with headlong enthusiasm. VGE's US-based counterparts, for example, are not yet commenting on the petition. Our response was delivered in no less public a fashion, replied directly on the last post (as of this publication) on the timeline of VGE's own X social media feed, here only days after its release.
What is fair to say overall, though, is that Big Business, as a rule-of-thumb, tends to not move too quickly. Encountering the late-coming but powerful momentum that we've raised behind this initiative, many big industry players will be tempted to regard it as little more than a "spook." Gamers' energy, or so they may believe, will not last, and not fare well as set against their own momentum and long-standing plans. Herein lies an opportunity for gamers to truly surprise them!
Staying Power is the name of the game in business. While gamers have cleared our initial hurdle, with the numbers all but guaranteeing its safe landing into the European Commission's capable hands for further review, our work is not done. This is, in fact, a campaign. The Petition is only Phase 1. Our road begins with its successful conclusion! On that note, speaking to our resolve as gamers to keep our games, see them not be killed off and taken from us, we can count a victory in our path to securing the ultimate W. This petition is basically certain to pass. In the history of petitions, once you reach confidence levels around 1.5x, you can pretty much count it as bagged. We are on track for that now. If we keep spreading the word, it may yet soar north of 1.75x, or near to 2 million signatures!
Imagine the message that will send to regulators, not to mention to the media and the decision-makers in Big Gaming. Gamers' voices are already being heard in the halls of the political, technical and bureaucratic classes in Europe and beyond. These are people who may be a little more open to public feedback than business leaders tend to be. We still have our work cut out for us there in order to ensure we impress how much it matters to us, to them!
Some publishers have already shown a willingness to embrace our message, however, and we've got to celebrate them for that! One, BeamNG, actually a member of VGE, had this to say on X:
We compliment BeamNG on taking this tough, principled stance! This is important for a number of reasons. It indicates the rushed nature of decision to release the Position paper on VGE's part. Their process neglected to include all members. The Brotherhood stands with BeamNG in their desire to be represented and count as part of their industry group, just as gamers come together to have a voice with broad representation of our interests here in GBAMFS! Will VGE take into account the views of all of its participating members? What processes are in place are in order to ensure VGE serves its membership, and looks out for the long-term health of the industry? These are but a few of the questions we think VGE should consider answering!
Beam are by no means alone, though, just take a look:
Notch, creator of Minecraft, has all-but-endorsed SKG, too!
Pretty incredible, right? Notch isn't only a super talented dev, but he shares a willingness to stand on principle..
They're joined by the likes of Running with Scissors:
For fans of classic FPS's Running with Scissors will be very familiar. An independently-owned no-holds-barred creative dynamo of a studio, RWS has brought forth such hit titles as Postal, and Postal 2. Even rarer for those of us who enjoy the handful of worthwhile game movie adaptations, they licensed the surprisingly amusing [the] Postal movie—sometimes the satire hits just right*. *More on that in Jdawg's review. —
RWS has been based all along, supporting gaming all the way and giving a full-throated defense today of SKG, uniquely early among American publishers known to us at the time. Although RWS has long stood for good games, player choice, and creative freedom, they're no longer standing among quite so very few in doing so—Id Software, Apogee, Monolith, a few select others as notable early leaders! —
Marek Tyminski just endorsed SKG!
Great addition to the movement! We're psyched to see Marek on-board!
We're winning more and more to our side every day in a historic turn to opening the technology that makes our biggest engines of entertainment today, run! Victories like this, though, take time to solidify. This is, as the saying goes, a long game. Update: As reported by Ross Scott on July 21st, it appears that missed in our initial count was a comment post made by Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games:
While this doesn't establish Epic's position on SKG, it certainly adds to a picture of uncertainty and uncommunication within the trade group.
Before we go on, let's recap; examining the views of some of those more a part of the commercial mainstream of the industry:
First a message from us—
Got an offhand retort in response. While we can't win them all over, we can be confident that we are on the winning side!
CEO of Nine Dots Studio, Guillaume Boucher-Vidal, weighed in:
We can totally agree with that! Thanks for keeping it real, Guillaume!
Not just pointed commentary, but a turn of wit as well:
Well put! ––
There are some reasoned, dissenting views from our own, as well:
There is room for intellectually honest, and technical disagreement. We would ask those who do disagree with SKG to raise themselves to this standard, if they do not already. While the above example argument doesn't satisfy us, or speak to the underlying issues, at least it doesn't miss the point entirely! 🏴☠️ –– reminder we've already addressed these type of objections at-length, here.
The questions SKG brings up are provoking some profoundly thoughtful discourse:
Wiktor's voice is a very strong one, indeed!
Taking a look at some further posts and comments from rank-and-file devs, indie CEOs and others associated with the gaming industry, we come to find a truly diverse range of views! Here are a few excerpts that just made the cut:
CEO small-to-medium sized studio: “ Seen properly this is an opportunity to transform the business model and tap into the entrepreneurship and creativity of our communities by mainstreaming something that's been around since the beginning of multiplayer – private servers.
...
There's also a great business opportunity for publishers here. For most game devs, selling private servers is a whole new business opportunity. It shifts hosting from being a cost to being a value added service. Its not just about mods, but about providing a sense of place. Its about fueling your game's success with community entrepreneurship. And it solves the ownership problem - the game is no longer dependent on the developer and can live beyond them if needed. .... ” Game marketing pro opined: “ So, "Stop Killing Games" has surpassed required number of signatures.
There's now actionable path EU to enforce consumer rights of gamers, that would stop companies from abandoning games.
Bottom line is, you bought the game, you own it, and it shouldn't be taken away from you if the company decides to cut losses and drop support for it. ”
Paul Kilduff-Taylor, CEO of Mode 7:
“ The industry has missed the first window to engage with these concerns productively and now we are yet again facing the possibility of having to deal with the eventual regulatory mess, with a disproportionate compliance burden potentially falling on smaller companies.
It is hard to advocate for self-regulation (which I feel is overwhelmingly the best solution in this specific case due to the complexities involved) when - just like with loot boxes - some bigger players are content to take things well over the line of being anti-consumer.
Can we not just make cool games and deliver a good experience to players without pushing things so far that our customers feel like they have to mount this sort of misguided campaign? ”
Hear hear, Paul! Gamers have come so far, in part, led to it by bad practices that just spoiled our fun, time and again! It is simply no longer acceptable to us to let this slide.
In fact, our original (circa 2019) statement of beliefs, which went into informing our principles now enshrined in our FAQ, contained some almost identical laments!!!
And finally, an industry analyst observed:
“ Of course, it’s also reasonable to look at it from the consumer perspective. One constant over the last few years in video streaming has been price increases. If Game Pass had succeeded, it would have first tried to put transactional storefronts out of business before raising prices gradually in markets that could support it. In that respect, it’s perhaps a blessing in disguise that Game Pass did not succeed in the way Xbox hoped.
It’s also interesting to look at .... the context of this ongoing “Stop Killing Games” debate. ... [T]he common[nality] is that subscription models are predicated on training consumers that they don’t need to “own” their content (and thus, that it may not be permanent). Consumers in other media have accepted this to varying extents, but gamers don’t appear to be willing to do so. (!) ”
That is true, and we are over a million strong demonstrating the principle, in the space of under a month, no less — and that's just on one continent!
In reviewing these and more public remarks from those in industry, it is fair to conclude that opinions are divided at this point in time. And although a few coherent arguments in defense of status-quo practice were found, none were seen to cover any new ground not already addressed in our Response we have provided to VGE. So they are not included here.
Quick Tip:
Gamers, let us help the devs to complete this mission for us the way we want! As the measure is considered, after the signatures are counted, let us let devs know the shape you want offline/homebrew play to take. In forums and on socials, where appropriate, just put the features you believe belong as part of that in messages to these companies.
"I want full campaign play possible" some might say. Most of us, perhaps, really just want that barebones campaign mode available for us to do stuff in. Even if it is not a content & experience complete match for the official one. So, if that's you just mention it where it makes sense to share. "Just let me be able play," basically. In the end, it means we all have a way easier time by helping them to get it right up-front!
SKG has been covered, and won endorsements from more mainstream gaming and tech reviewers, too:
Linus, of Linus Tech Tips, for one!
He endorsed it very early on — all the way back when it was launched! Good onya, Linus!
Interestingly, prominent game reviewer Alanah Pearce solicited comment on SKG on her Bluesky feed last Friday 7/11, but the thread has since been deleted. No information is available as to why it was removed. Prior to this, the thread had accumulated over a dozen replies, some thoughtful, from developers. None of those posts remain visible now.
As noted when the Pirate Software controversy resurfaced at the beginning of this month, raised again by gaming content streamers MoistCr1tikal, followed by Asmongold, there has been generally broad, and now, almost monolithic consensus among the creator community in favor of SKG. Fun Fact: Gamers owe Asmon and Moist big time for putting a major spotlight on it in the final month of the collection period! => A planned future article going in-depth on the conclusion of this campaign will explore just how that worked!
In the wake of that exposure, and a following major spike in interest, famous gamer-streamer emeritus, whose subscriber count stands at 110 million, PewDiePie spoke out in favor of it, too
Followed shortly by streamers xQc, and jacksepticeye, whose subscriber counts 2.4 million and 31 million respectively —
Along with a series of powerful industry-facing creators who have now endorsed the movement, including the highly knowledgeable game reviewer and video essayist SidAlpha,
The the well-respected and widely-followed tech hardware and gaming review channel Gamers' Nexus,
And technology commentator, hardware specialist, and Consumer Rights advocate, Louis Rossmann,
Among many, many other technical and non-technical creators who have since chosen to support Stop Killing Games!
Combined, along with grass-roots outreach made by everyday gamers, these creators' influence sky-rocketed the petition almost a million signatures in the space of two or so weeks! How is that for # GamerPower? Pretty good, we'll say!!!
Before we wrap our list of headliners in favor of SKG, we must note two presently non-endorsing but powerful figures in the gaming community whose influence has greatly aided the rise of the PC Platform itself. After which they are best known for their intense, and storied legacies:
John Carmack DOOM Developer Originally of - Id Software
Keen Technologies
John Romero DOOM Developer Originally of - Id Software
Romero Games
Although they have yet to comment, these legendary OGs have consistently stood up for legacy support, open modding, and games preservation throughout the years! From its initial release, DOOM, for example, came with level-editing utilities and the resources to begin to effectively remake the game over anew if the user so-desired! The engine, the resources libraries were all custom-built and did what their very high-tech upstart developers wanted them to: Perform REALLY well, # 1, and # 2 prove ready and matched to the hobbyist interest: Exploring, taking apart, and eventually, rebuilding the game itself around modder preferences!
Which is among the reasons why, without a doubt, DOOM maintains one of the most active, ongoing, talented and oldest modder+multiplayer followings to this day!
The modern industry might have forgotten, or chosen to eliminate the functionality of legacy and LAN-based, configurable, communications devices (modems, routers, etc) where they can, but that is no excuse to not deliver a full game! And even then, maintain modularity so the game functions even in its sunset phase!
Many modern publishers can take a lesson from Id Software!
Should either of the Johns care to weigh in, we surely will cover their remarks. Their example is one we uphold, encourage, and honor always!
Our biggest high-profile champion on the public political scene in the EU at this time is without a doubt the Romanian MP, and a sitting Vice President of the European Parliament, Nicolae Ștefănuță!
He posted only a few days ago, in complete endorsement for the campaign, to his Instagram account. Most significantly, actually announcing he is signing the petition himself! What a wonderfully inspiring, generous and hugely influential gesture! He is quoted as saying: “I stand with the people who started this citizen initiative. I signed and will continue to help them. A game, once sold, belongs to the customer, not the company,” he said.
How good is that, gamers? We're collecting W's every day, and our strongest supporters have only just begun to speak out as the petition draws to a close... Don't stop for anything!
Parting note: Just wanted to feature Marco's remarks here. They're so on-point, I feel like I saved the best for last:
From the Brotherhood's point of view, you speak for many, if not all of us in that statement Marco! — Very well put!
In Summary: The industry will take time to decide what to make of our powerful statement arising out of this petition. As well as establish a firm grasp on the issues, which at present, they do not appear to have. Many, and some prominent devs, as well as other knowledgeable parties have already shown a willingness to hear us out, expressed warmth towards our ideas or outright endorsed SKG! Most of our gaming brethren, the world over, are with us in spirit on this issue, even if they / we cannot participate in this petition.
It seems gamers have a window of opportunity to raise awareness, now, and spread the word. To begin to letting devs know what the world of legacy compatibility is all about, how network-safe, modular, failover, etc strategies and designs are. That they're both what are practically called for, and what the market demands!
Now may be just short period of time when we can decide how far we want to move, and take ourselves there, before anyone decides to maybe think better of our commitment. Fixing gaming, making it great and entertaining again overall? This step may soon just look like a prelude struggle, before we even get to the point we may face an IRL Boss Battle of sorts! — Prepare accordingly! This ain't over yet! If it comes down to competing with Big Gaming to implement reform—where we would all benefit more/more greatly, and maybe even sooner, in preference to engaging in co-op mode with 'em on these points—if they want to do it that way, we are well-equipped and prepared to accept the challenge! We didn't hear no bell!!!
That co-op mode option is still open, though. Your move, Big Gaming!
J-Dawg is a die-hard gamer, devoted fan of traditional 2D animation, GBAMFS' founder, CEO and pointman.
You may follow the GBAMFS X account from this link: https://x.com/gbamfs Rev.2: For purposes of direct clarity and specificity on Notch's declared stance; updating screencaps and bio photos to present best-available. Formatting and improvement of closing. Added Update concerning Tim Sweeny's remarks on X.
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