Mass Effect fans join campaign to 'stop killing games'

Mass Effect fans are being urged to join the Stop Killing Games initiative.

Stop Killing Games is a movement that challenges publishers to stop shutting down live games once support ends, or assure that there are ways to continue playing if the servers do shut down.

The campaign has a large emphasis in the European Union, where there are more protections for consumers. And to this date, over 450,000 signatures have been recognised by the online petition, nearly halfway to its goal of one million.

If protections are passed, it would mean publishers would have to put protections in place to ensure future games don’t become unplayable for millions of gamers worldwide.

That would mean future installments of games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Counter-Strike, Destiny, or GTA would possibly be able to retain their multiplayer components even if the servers eventually get shuttered.

The Mass Effect community is the latest group to join the campaign, with a post made on Reddit urging users to sign the petition if they live in the European Union.

“This will help everybody across the globe as well, as an American I beg EU folks to sign this,” wrote one user in the comments.

“This will also help sites like GOG keep even more old, long out of distribution games alive,” another user added.

It’s worth noting that if new laws are passed, this would only affect games released after the ruling is made. So Mass Effect 3 multiplayer wouldn’t be protected by this.

However, with Mass Effect 5 in development, it could mean any live service shenanigans that EA may put into the game would be protected under new laws and consumer protections.

Even if Stop Killing Games reaches the number of signatures it needs, there’s no guarantee that new laws will be put into effect. The European Parliament will debate the issue, and decisions will be made following that.

However, given the popularity and effectiveness of similar movements like the GOG Preservation Program and Video Game History Foundation, preservation of video games still remains a high priority for certain members of the industry.