Stop killing games: PIRATES call for cultural protection of video games

Stop killing games: PIRATES call for cultural protection of video gamesIn cooperation with the gamer initiative ‘Stop killing games’, which opposes manufacturers rendering video games inoperable, Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer and a member of the Culture Committee have submitted a priority question to the EU Commission. The background to the gamers‘ protest is the decision by French computer game manufacturer Ubisoft to make the racing game ‘The Crew 1’, which was sold until December 2023, unusable as of April 2024. Breyer explains:

‘We want an assessment by the EU Commission of whether game manufacturers are allowed to sell popular games at a profit while reserving the right to arbitrarily render them unusable at any time. This industry practice is likely to be illegal as an ‘unfair term in consumer contracts’. Above all, it does not do justice to the cultural significance of games, which can bring together established communities of millions of players. We Pirates demand that the EU protect games as a cultural asset, prohibit them from being rendered unusable at will and, if a manufacturer gives up a game, allow it to be continued by the community.’

Breyer had already asked the EU Commission about the discontinuation of computer games a month ago, but the answer is still pending. The priority question that has now been submitted must be answered within three weeks, i.e. by 16 May.