07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative responds to criticism of its movement from lobbying group Video Games Europe
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Ross Scott of 'Stop Killing Games' has responded to Video Games Europe's criticisms. | Credit: X
The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative has been gaining momentum since the end of June 2025, with the movement's European Citizens Initiative crossing 1 million signatures on July 3. The success of the movement has prompted a response from video game lobbying group, Video Games Europe.
The industry group disagreed with the aims of the movement, claiming that 'Stop Killing Games' was ignoring the multifaceted nature of game development, and that implementing the initiative's proposals would make game development prohibitively expensive and increase the legal liability faced by publishers. As a result, 'Stop Killing Games' organizer Ross Scott released a response video where he addressed, and often debunked, many of the claims made by Video Games Europe. Ross Scott of 'Stop Killing Games' addresses industry lobby
I think Video Games Europe making a PirateSoftware-tier flimsily reasoned statement against Stop Killing Games while having all these infamously anti-consumer companies directly involved with them says a lot.
This is exactly why Stop Killing Games needs to succeed. — Rin | 凛 (@TheIshikawaRin) July 7, 2025
Ross Scott's video went over the statement released by Video Games Europe, and in doing so, he pointed out areas of agreement, and areas where he believed the industry group was being deceptive or misleading. Ross stated that if anything, this response from Video Games Europe meant that movement was actually having an impact.
Ross was also unsurprised that Video Games Europe opposed the initiative, as he believed that the industry group was driven by business interests who did not care about game preservation and instead wanted to maximize their bottom line, unlike actual game developers and fans. When it came to Video Games Europe saying that publishers had a right to discontinue online games, Ross agreed. He simply wanted to give others the ability to archive discontinued or unsupported games. Later arguments from Video Games Europe, however, drew a harsher response as he believed they were made in bad faith. Ross pushes back on many of Video Games Europe's claims
The first major claim Ross took issue with was the idea that game publishers would be held legally liable if they ever allowed third parties to modify their games. Ross had a hard time believing such an eventuality couldn't be addressed in an End User License Agreement (EULA). Another argument Ross argued against was the idea that developing online titles with the regulations 'Stop Killing Games' was suggesting would make the process prohibitively expensive.
Ross pointed out that a lot of the expenses incurred in online game development were the result of incorporating micro-services and platform integrations that could be done away with without rendering the game unplayable.
Ross also argued that since the proposed regulations wouldn't be retroactive, publishers could start reshaping their development roadmaps accordingly should any of the initiative's ideas be taken onboard. Ross ended his response by admitting that he wasn't necessarily trying to convince the lobbyists themselves, but rather the average player, who might get taken in by arguments that he believed were made in bad faith.
For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. First Published: Jul 08, 2025, 03:05 IST
Pulak Kumar is an entertainment and current events writer who got his start with bylines in Sportskeeda and Koi Moi. He's immensely passionate about understanding and analyzing the latest happenings in Hollywood, anime, gaming and pop culture. Read More
8/7/2025 3:17:7
