Ubisoft’s own shareholders have urged the company to respond to growing criticism over its treatment of gamers. The Stop Killing Games movement, launched by YouTube personality Ross Scott last April, is calling for game publishers like Ubisoft to provide a way for customers to continue playing games even after official support ends.
The controversy began when Ubisoft shut down servers for open-world racing game The Crew in March, preventing access to multiplayer and single-player content. This move sparked outrage among gamers, who felt they were being forced to abandon their favorite games.
In response to the criticism, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told shareholders that while the company provides support for its games, it is inevitable that some services will be discontinued over time. However, this response has been met with skepticism from many gamers and industry observers, who argue that Ubisoft’s approach does not go far enough.
The Stop Killing Games movement is now calling on publishers to implement an end-of-life plan to modify or patch games so they can run on customer systems without requiring further support from the company. This proposal has already garnered over 1 million signatures worldwide, with the UK petition surpassing 150,000 signatures and being considered for debate in parliament.
Industry body Video Games Europe has also weighed in, claiming that the initiative’s proposals would make games “prohibitively expensive to create”. However, many gamers believe that providing a way for customers to continue playing games even after support ends is a reasonable request.
Source: https://www.eurogamer.net/ubisofts-own-shareholders-demand-response-to-the-stop-killing-games-consumer-movement