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Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99Subscribe now Essential Hardware Dune: Awakening PC Gaming Show Recommended reading Gaming Industry European game publisher group responds to Stop Killing Games, claims the proposal 'would curtail developer choice' Gaming Industry The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative is close to its final deadline, and after that, its leader is understandably done: 'Either the frog hops out of the pot, or it's dead' Ubisoft is keeping its promise to add an offline mode to The Crew 2, and testing begins next week Gaming Industry Stop Killing Games surges past its goals, but a possible signature spoofing campaign could cause trouble: 'This is not a Change.org petition. This is a government process' Gaming Industry 'A game, once sold, belongs to the customer': Prominent EU politician stands up for Stop Killing Games After a decade of development, Roboquest's developer is calling time on its roguelite shooter: 'There's no way we can continue to provide content for players with over 1,000 hours of gameplay' XDefiant is now ex-Defiant as the game closes and its executive producer leaves Ubisoft: 'We just didn't have the gas to go the distance' Ubisoft CEO responds to the Stop Killing Games petition, stating the publisher is 'working on' improving its approach to end-of-life support, but that 'nothing is eternal' 20 July 2025 "Obviously support for all games cannot last forever." When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Ubisoft) Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has addressed the Stop Killing Games consumer rights campaign, stating that end-of-life support for old online games 'a far reaching issue' that the publisher is 'working on' but that 'nothing is eternal' when it comes to videogame services. Guillemot was asked about Stop Killing Games—which advocates for increased regulations to prevent game developers and publishers from shutting down games after official support for them ends—at Ubisoft's annual shareholder's meeting. The question was posed in the context of Ubisoft's online racer The Crew, the shutdown of which became the catalyst for the Stop Killing Games initiative. As noted by Game File, Guillemot was asked whether he supported the petition, whether players own a Ubisoft game when they purchase it, and how Ubisoft plans to ensure its games remain playable after support is discontinued. Related Articles European game publisher group responds to Stop Killing Games, claims the proposal 'would curtail developer choice' The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative is close to its final deadline, and after that, its leader is understandably done: 'Either the frog hops out of the pot, or it's dead' Ubisoft is keeping its promise to add an offline mode to The Crew 2, and testing begins next week Guillemot initially responded by defending the amount of support Ubisoft provides for its games at present. "Regarding the petition, we operate in a market. And, whenever we release a game, we provide a lot of support for that game. We also provide a lot of services to make sure that the game is accessible and remains playable 24/7." Guillemot also stated that "players and buyers are forewarned" when a Ubisoft game is going to be shut down, and that with The Crew specifically, Ubisoft offered its successor, the Crew 2, on sale for €1 for a fortnight prior to the original game's shuttering. "For just one Euro they got to buy the next version. One Euro… it's not a lot of money to be able to continue playing a game." I'm not sure Guillemot's conflation of The Crew 2 as both a sequel and a continuation of the original game's service is justified here, since they are two separate games. It is possible for a game to be both, as demonstrated by Valve when it overwrote Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with Counter-Strike 2. But that was a direct replacement handed out for free, while you can still play CS:GO by reverting to an older build and playing on community servers. Moreover, if the point of Ubisoft's sale was indeed to allow players of The Crew 1 to jump ship (or, indeed, car) then this doesn't appear to have been made clear by Ubisoft at the time. The Crew - Launch Trailer - YouTube Anyway, Guillemot then points out that "all video game publishers" are faced with the issue of changing or ending services. "You provide a service, but nothing is written in stone and at some point the service may be discontinued. Nothing is eternal. And we are doing our best to make sure that things go well for all players and buyers, because obviously support for all games cannot last forever." The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. It's worth noting here Stop Killing Games does not demand unceasing support for games by publishers. In its website FAQ, Stop Killing Games states it is "in favour of publishers ending support for a game whenever they choose. What we are asking for is that they implement an end-of-life plan to modify or patch the game so it can run on customer systems with no further support from the company being necessary." In fairness to Ubisoft, it has claimed such safeguards will be put in place for The Crew 2, which Guillemot likewise pointed out in his response. "We also announced that the game would be available offline in the future so that players could continue to play it. So this is an issue that we've been dealing with." Guillemot concludes by reiterating the point about services having a shelf-life. "The lifespan of a piece of software, whenever there’s a service component, eventually services may be discontinued, because eventually the software may become obsolete over time. A lot of tools become obsolete 10 or 15 years down the line. They’re no longer available. And that is why we release a new version. And so we have version two and then version three. But clearly this is a far-reaching issue, and we are working on it." As for Stop Killing Games, earlier this month it cleared the threshold of one million signatures to become an EU Citizens' Initiative, meaning it passes the bar to be deliberated by the European Commission. However, there are questions regarding the validity of some of those signatures, with Stop Killing Games' organiser Ross Scott concerned that the figure has been inflated by signature spoofing campaigns. Contributor Rick has been fascinated by PC gaming since he was seven years old, when he used to sneak into his dad's home office for covert sessions of Doom. He grew up on a diet of similarly unsuitable games, with favourites including Quake, Thief, Half-Life and Deus Ex. Between 2013 and 2022, Rick was games editor of Custom PC magazine and associated website bit-tech.net. But he's always kept one foot in freelance games journalism, writing for publications like Edge, Eurogamer, the Guardian and, naturally, PC Gamer. While he'll play anything that can be controlled with a keyboard and mouse, he has a particular passion for first-person shooters and immersive sims. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. European game publisher group responds to Stop Killing Games, claims the proposal 'would curtail developer choice' The 'Stop Killing Games' initiative is close to its final deadline, and after that, its leader is understandably done: 'Either the frog hops out of the pot, or it's dead' Ubisoft is keeping its promise to add an offline mode to The Crew 2, and testing begins next week Stop Killing Games surges past its goals, but a possible signature spoofing campaign could cause trouble: 'This is not a Change.org petition. This is a government process' 'A game, once sold, belongs to the customer': Prominent EU politician stands up for Stop Killing Games After a decade of development, Roboquest's developer is calling time on its roguelite shooter: 'There's no way we can continue to provide content for players with over 1,000 hours of gameplay' Latest in Games Soulframe dev says launching in 2025 is now an 'aspirational goal', but you can play the fantasy RPG's pre-alpha right now if you're quick Peak's latest beta patch ensures the cooperative climbing sim actually checks players are alive when they reach the summit of its mountain: 'You no longer win if you die' Elder Scrolls fans are bringing the card game back from digital oblivion Bungie promises to fix Destiny 2's new metroid-style morph ball as it makes players sick and glitches out on ultrawide monitors Destiny 2 dev denies accusations that The Edge of Fate introduced 'stealth nerfs' after players identify missing changes in the expansion's massive changelog: 'We would be completely out of our minds if we thought we could slip something under the rug' 10 years ago, Obsidian made the only D&D-style Monk I've ever really loved⁠—all it took was grounding him in harsh asceticism, mortification of the flesh, Aztec history, and stoner comedies Latest in News Soulframe dev says launching in 2025 is now an 'aspirational goal', but you can play the fantasy RPG's pre-alpha right now if you're quick Peak's latest beta patch ensures the cooperative climbing sim actually checks players are alive when they reach the summit of its mountain: 'You no longer win if you die' Microsoft abruptly stops selling movies and TV shows on PC and Xbox, but past purchases will remain available Elder Scrolls fans are bringing the card game back from digital oblivion Bungie promises to fix Destiny 2's new metroid-style morph ball as it makes players sick and glitches out on ultrawide monitors 'We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity': Netflix used AI special effects in original series instead of paying VFX artists HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES LATEST GAME REVIEWS Best PCIe 5.0 SSD for gaming in 2025: the only Gen 5 drives I will allow in my PC Best graphics cards in 2025: I've tested pretty much every AMD and Nvidia GPU of the past 20 years and these are today's top cards Best gaming laptop in 2025: I've put the best of this new generation head-to-head and we have a winner Best gaming chair in 2025: I've tested a ton of gaming chairs and these are the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads Sony WF-C710N review Asus ROG Azoth X review The Drifter review—Gritty Aussie noir meets conspiratorial sci-fi Flexispot OC3/BS3 review Shadow Labyrinth review: Pac-Man is entertainingly miscast in this grimdark Metroidvania PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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