In a nutshell: A new petition filed with the Canadian government is calling for legislation to protect consumers' access to the games they purchase even after a publisher ends support for them. Over 3,000 signatures have been gathered in just a few days, asking companies to leave the game fully functional and remove mandatory online requirements once the game reaches end of life.
The issue has been brewing for years, but it likely reached a tipping point last month when Ubisoft dropped support for online racer The Crew. Not only did this shutdown make the game unplayable, but Ubisoft went a step further and stripped owners of their right to launch the game through the Ubisoft Connect platform. Gamers who purchased The Crew essentially now have no way to access the title they paid for.
The Canadian petition argues that this type of practice “deprives consumers of their fundamental property rights and impedes restoration and preservation efforts.” The report alleges that companies engage in “planned obsolescence by withholding critical components and preventing consumers from repairing their copies of games.”
The petitioners are calling on the government to pass legislation that would require publishers to not only keep their games functioning indefinitely after support ends, but also to remove dependencies on the publisher's servers. . This prevents situations where always-online games become unplayable after a shutdown.
The petition also argues that the bill would invalidate end-user license agreements (EULAs), ensuring that customers cannot be stripped of their ownership rights simply by playing a game.
A similar petition was recently launched in the UK and has gathered over 20,000 signatures. In response, the UK government said game sellers must comply with consumer protection laws by providing clear information if they want to keep games available for play indefinitely. However, permanent online functionality was not mandated.
The UK government may require game companies to ensure offline modes remain viable under consumer protection regulations if a game is advertised as remaining playable after a server shutdown It is claimed that there is. However, there is no clear requirement for persistent online operability.
This issue touches on the long-standing debate surrounding digital ownership of media such as games, movies, and music. As games increasingly adopt online-centric service models, there are concerns that consumers are essentially renting access to entertainment they believe they own. .
Even if there is any response, Canada's petition is likely to prompt a response similar to that of the British government. However, if the petition is successful, it could set an important precedent for the protection of digital property rights.
