UK gamers are tired of losing their games and have finally decided to take action. They started a petition urging the UK government to update consumer law, arguing that publishers should be prohibited from disabling video games, including live service, after selling them to consumers.
The petition claimed this as a statutory consumer right and argued that live service games could be considered a form of planned obsolescence, as players cannot retain or repair the games they’ve purchased. “We think this practice is hostile to consumers, entirely preventable, and have concerns existing laws do not address the problem,” the petition stated. “Thus, we believe government intervention is needed.”
Unfortunately, the UK government didn’t agree. Once the petition gathered over ten thousand signatories, the government considered the demand. It responded on February 3, stating, “There are no plans to amend UK consumer law on disabling video games.” It added that companies selling games should comply with existing laws while the government continues to monitor the situation.
The government acknowledged concerns about the lifespan of digital content, including video games, but stated it had no plans to change existing consumer laws on digital obsolescence. It also noted that no law requires companies to support older versions of their products. “There may be occasions where companies make decisions based on the high running costs of maintaining older servers for games with declining user bases,” the government said.
Gamers were unhappy with the response. “They’re dodging the issue again,” one Redditor commented. Others weren’t surprised, arguing that asking the government for help was pointless. “When will this movement realize that, like every other movement in history, working within their system is setting yourself up for failure?” another Redditor said.
The fight for game preservation has been ongoing for many years. With the rise of live service games, it has become even more challenging for those who want to keep and maintain their games. While single-player games are relatively easy to preserve, live-service games are an entirely different challenge. Since they exist solely in the digital space, developers have full control over all content.
Redditors at the StopKillingGames subreddit are just one of many groups fighting for this cause. The petition was one of their recent attempts to pressure developers and publishers into taking game preservation seriously. Unfortunately, based on the UK government’s response, the group faces yet another setback. While disappointing, it was not unexpected.
