Game in the Brain

Summary of “Giant stop killing games updates 2026”

Here is a detailed breakdown of the latest updates on the “Stop Killing Games” campaign presented by Ross Scott of Accursed Farms:

• A Shift in Strategy & High Confidence: Following the successful signature gathering for the European Citizens Initiative, the campaign has moved away from internet activism and is now heavily focused on political maneuvering and working with regulators [00:17]. Despite the complicated path ahead, the creator remains highly confident of a victory because the law is fundamentally on the consumers’ side [01:10].
• The “Bad News” (EU Commission Resistance):
  • Industry Influence: In earlier meetings regarding the Digital Fairness Act, the EU Commission seemed to echo industry talking points (e.g., calling games “living, breathing things”) and expressed misplaced concerns that regulation might prevent teenage indie developers from making games [02:16].
  • Deregulatory Agenda: The Commission explicitly told the organizers that they are pursuing a “deregulatory agenda,” which conflicts directly with the campaign’s push for new consumer protection rules [06:28].
  • Fears of “Self-Regulation”: A leaked article suggested the EU might simply issue a non-binding statement encouraging the industry to self-regulate [07:32]. Ross argues this is a complete failure, citing the industry’s 13-year track record of destroying games, recently highlighted by EA permanently disabling Anthem [09:09].
• The “Good News” (Momentum & Institutional Support):
  • EU Parliament Backing: Thanks to massive volunteer efforts, the initiative currently has majority support in the EU Parliament, putting the issue in a great position to be passed [11:46].
  • Launch of Two Official NGOs: The movement is leveling up from an amateur effort to a professional one by launching two Non-Governmental Organizations:
    • European NGO: Spearheaded by Moritz Katzner, this organization will handle long-term counter-lobbying, watchdog actions, and help consumers push for refunds when games are shut down [12:07].
    • United States NGO: Unexpectedly, a separate US-based NGO has secured actual funding and is already drafting legal bills across multiple US states to tackle the issue [14:09].
• The Backup Plan: Enforcing Existing Laws:
  • If the push for new laws fails, the campaign’s ultimate fallback is to force the enforcement of existing consumer protection laws. Currently, most EU countries handle shutdowns chaotically on a case-by-case basis [17:11].
  • Strong Legal Foundation: Dr. Alberto Hidalgo Serezo, an award-winning law professor, is publishing a 500-page legal study confirming that selling a game with no expiration date and later deliberately disabling it is fully unlawful under EU objective conformity and property rights [23:07]. Enforcing this through courts would actually result in much harsher penalties for the gaming industry than the campaign’s proposed regulations [22:13].
• Global Progress: The campaign is seeing bipartisan support from the Polish government [25:22], and consumer protection complaints are slowly advancing in France, Germany, and Australia [27:50].

Ultimately, the campaign is attacking the problem from every possible angle—via new NGOs, consumer agencies, EU parliament, dedicated legal studies, and US state bills [28:30]. Even if the upcoming EU Commission meeting doesn’t yield immediate results, the movement has the momentum to keep fighting until the practice of destroying paid video games is stopped.