“Stop Killing Games.” Big Campaign Targeting Publishers Launched. Ending Ubisoft’s Support of the Crew a Flashpoint
The end of the first The Crew encouraged a popular youtuber to initiate „real action” against the practice of „killing” games by publishers.
Complaints about different modern trends in video games have been ongoing for years, but typically the reports from publishers have clearly demonstrated that this doesn't result in specific actions. However, the end of Ubisoft's support for The Crew resulted in the organization of a campaign with a telling name: "Stop Killing Games."
As we read on the campaign page organized by YouTuber Ross Scott, the recent abandonment of the first installment of the car series last weekend was the main reason for starting the campaign. This scenario demonstrates the issue with games-as-a-service: marketed as "products" but designed in a manner that renders them entirely unplayable for all purchasers after the support ends. For instance, the 12 million people who were supposed to constitute The Crew's player base.
The organizer of the campaign decided to take action, including launching government petitions in Great Britain and soon in European Union countries, against what he described as "the practice of destroying games sold to customers," due to the alleged number of fans of this title. The internet user considered this a great chance to highlight this issue.
Scott has also put together an extensive list of frequently asked questions, providing a detailed explanation of all matters related to his motivations and the potential impacts of restricting publishers' autonomy with game services. The YouTuber proposes penalizing publishers for every "killed" copy of the game, which would effectively compel companies to enable players to enjoy a particular title even after the support has been discontinued.
He also points out that there are already instances of game publishers ending support in a "responsible" manner, such as Gran Turismo Sport and Knockout City.
Common approval
Scott's campaign received widespread approval from players, who started spreading information about it on social media, regardless of the potential effectiveness of these actions. Some online users point out (not necessarily without sadness) that it would signify the end for companies that employ the tactic of rapidly releasing successive titles with aggressive monetization and discontinuing them only to launch a similar project.
Of course, as is usually the case, solving this "problem" may be much more difficult in practice. However, as Scott mentioned in the promotional video for the campaign, "it's impossible right now because a company has spent a lot of time trying to make it difficult."
The YouTuber is urging all players to support the initiative and has provided a comprehensive tutorial on the campaign's website on ways to help exert pressure on game publishers.
