Stop Destroying Videogames Enters EU Review After 1.29M Verified Signatures

r/pcgaming picked up Eurogamer's explainer, but the important development is now on the European Citizens' Initiative record. Stop Destroying Videogames was formally submitted to the European Commission on 2026-01-26 after collecting 1,294,188 verified statements of support, easily clearing the one-million threshold.

The initiative's core ask is specific: publishers selling or licensing videogames in the EU should be required to leave games in a functional, playable state so they cannot simply be remotely disabled after sale. That matters because the campaign has moved beyond community pressure and into the EU's formal citizen-initiative machinery.

The file is already advancing through examination. The Commission says the organisers met Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunnen and Commissioner Michael McGrath on 2026-02-23 to explain the initiative's objectives. Under the standard ECI process, organisers also get an opportunity for a public hearing at the European Parliament within 3 months of submission.

After that, the Commission has until 2026-07-27 to publish its official reply. That response can propose legislation, outline non-legislative action, or explain why it will not act. In other words, the initiative has not created a new preservation rule yet, but it has crossed the line where Brussels must answer on the record.

For the games business, this is why the story matters even before any law exists. Publishers, live-service operators, storefront teams, and preservation advocates now have a concrete EU process to watch. A successful reply could push discussions around end-of-life plans, offline modes, server sunsetting, and consumer expectations from forum debate into compliance planning.

The immediate takeaway is procedural rather than celebratory. Stop Destroying Videogames has reached the point where Parliament scrutiny and a Commission response are mandatory, but the policy result remains open. Between now and 2026-07-27, the most important signals will be the Parliament hearing, the Commission's language on proportionality and consumer protection, and whether officials treat remote deactivation as a preservation problem, a licensing problem, or both.