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The Stop Killing Games campaign has been keeping up its momentum as of late with Ubisoft releasing an update to The Crew 2, making it playable offline after its predecessor's demise sparked the campaign. The EU Stop Destroying Videogames initiative is nearing the legislative phase after over 1.4 million signatures, and the campaign has released an update on everything that's happening.
Despite founder Ross Scott saying there was a "chance" that "a significant number" of those signatures weren't legit, the latest announcement on the StopKillingGames subreddit from organisers which says "Out of 1,448,270 signatures, 689,035 are already verified" with 15 countries reaching the required thresholds. Two of the EU's largest countries – Germany and France – have yet to meet that threshold, however that's not entirely cause for concern. The post continues, "based on our current progress, we are confident we have surpassed the required thresholds."
While the campaign has engaged in discussions with Members of the European Parliament, governments, and the European Commission, they note "we are actively working to secure expert backing. Having politicians, lobbyists, and developers in our ranks is invaluable, but we must credibly address the tough questions."
The post also made a point to acknowledge queries as to why it is engaging with studios who may have had games taken offline: "Some may ask: 'Why engage with those who created this mess?' The answer is clear: there is no monolithic 'industry.'"
The post adds that "the vast majority of studios—especially European ones, both indie and AAA—have always listened to players and strived to do right by the community. This issue is driven by a powerful few who do not represent the values of creators or players." The post continues, "Developers—the people who craft these worlds—are almost never the problem. They suffer under the same corporate greed as players, facing crunch, rushed releases, and compromised creativity."
While the campaign is doing well, they are still urging those interested to help raise attention to it by reaching out to governments, consumer protection groups and game studios to help support the campaign – with public events planned.
The post also updates on the feedback phase for the Digital Fairness Act, with the post saying that it "received a record-breaking number of submissions." They add that this level of engagement in EU public consultations is "unprecedented."
