UK Government Doesn’t Plan on Addressing Video Game Shut Downs

Hopeful petitioners haven’t gotten the response they had hoped for, with the UK government announcing that it won’t be addressing the matter of video game shutdowns. In the eyes of many gamers, it’s an unfortunate response to an ongoing problem in the video game industry, with this petition getting its start when it was announced that The Crew would shut down and be delisted.

In recent years, gamers have begun to object to the shutdown of online video games, especially when it’s abrupt or follows a brief period of having been available. Whether players are paying a monthly fee or not, it’s frustrating to invest time and energy on a game only to have it pulled offline and made unplayable. The sudden announcement of MultiVersus shutting down spurred a lot of resentment in the game’s community, but this particular petition got its start in 2024 regarding games that become fully unplayable after going offline.

Related

13 EA Games Are Confirmed to Be Shutting Down in 2025 So Far

At least 13 games published by EA will be shutting down throughout 2025.

In the UK, the government (via Eurogamer) has officially released its response to a petition from its constituents that has now reached 13,000 signatures. The petition asked the UK government to prohibit game publishers from “irrevocably disabling video games they have already sold,” akin to The Crew‘s shutdown. The UK government has now shared an official response, stating that it has no plans to change the current laws regarding digital obsolescence. The statement acknowledged the concerns of consumers, but stated that there is no current requirement in UK law that would force companies to continue providing support for “older versions of their products.”

However, the response also acknowledged that in the event a game led consumers to believe that it would be indefinitely playable despite support ending, the existing Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations might apply. In that instance, the game would have to remain playable in some manner. Essentially, the game would have to be playable offline, even if it lost all online functionality.

Anti-Shutdown Petition Goes Elsewhere

This particular UK petition was put forth by Stop Killing Games, led by YouTuber Ross Scott, and while the UK response isn’t what they were hoping for, it’s not stopping the movement entirely. Similar petitions are being issued to other governments, like that of the EU, in hopes of something changing. The movement’s website, in addition to providing links to ongoing petitions, also encourages users to utilize other resources to encourage governmental action.

Gamers are still stuck with potentially finding out that a game they’ve loved or have barely bought is shutting everything down. For now, the best-case scenario is that games remain playable offline, like MultiVersus and titles on platforms like the Nintendo 3DS or Wii U, which have shut down their servers.

Game

My Favorite Games
My Played Games
My Games Wishlist

Systems

Released

December 2, 2014

ESRB

T For Teen due to Language, Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence