Approaching its imminent conclusion, the 'Stop Killing Games' crusade finds its leader in a resolved state: 'Either the frog jumps out of the pot, or it perishes'.
Fightin' the Good Fight: YouTube's Ross Scott, aka Accursed Farms, has been tirelessly battling to save games from oblivion for nearly a year now. The catalyst? Ubisoft shutting down The Crew and ending its support, leaving the game open to the dustbins of history. In response, Scott began the "Stop Killing Games" initiative.
His journey has been a tough one, though it might be nearing its twilight years. The UK government's stubborn stance on the matter leaves him hoping for a glimmer of hope from the European Citizens' Initiative, launched last August, with a mere half million signatures close to the finish line.
With two deadlines confronting the Stop Killing Games initiative - the UK petition ending July 14, and the EU Citizens' Initiative ending July 3 - the stakes are high. In an interview, Scott explained that with the law not having been written for this scenario, and the industry's practices potentially illegal, one million signatures could make all the difference.
Struggling for the Million
The initiative's popularity should not be in question, claims Scott. He laments the challenge of attracting attention to the initiative in a world where people seem indifferent to anything beyond their immediate concerns. In spite of numerous meetings, conversations, press coverage (even ours included), YouTube videos, and more, the Stop Killing Games campaign feels like a rickshaw with a broken axle.
Scott himself admittedly isn’t the ideal person for the job, but he's given it everything he’s got. With weeks spent working 12-14 hours a day to keep things moving, the complexities of funding and sponsorship agreements have proved formidable hurdles. YouTube and Twitch, both major platforms for reaching gamers, forbid political advertisements in many EU countries. Even finding EU channels capable of engaging with the initiative has presented issues due to language barriers and contractual obligations. In Scott's own words, handling money is something he's not suited for, and "taking money with no plan? That's a grift."
Scott was also keen to address misconceptions spread by YouTuber PirateSoftware, aka Thor. In a heated video, Thor presented a MS-Paint–fueled explanation that the initiative aimed to protect single-player games, which Scott corrected as a misunderstanding.
Winning, Losing, or the Stupidest Timeline?
With the deadlines fast approaching, it remains uncertain whether the Stop Killing Games initiative will succeed. Scott is pessimistic, suspecting that if the EU Citizens' Initiative fails, he'll be stepping back from the fray. "I tried my absolute best, given the publicity of The Crew shutdown, and barely got halfway. It took a chunk out of my life with almost nothing to show for it." Regardless, the initiative will be the one to fail, not the fight for game preservation.
With Scott's potential retirement from campaigning, gamers will need to step up if they wish to preserve their digital sanctuaries. For those in the EU, visit Stop Killing Games to find out how you can contribute. For UK residents, sign the parliamentary petition. In the meantime, let's hope 2024 is the year we put an end to the nonsense and keep our games alive.
Sources:1. Scott, R. (2021). "The Crew 2 will be shutting down, so it's time to start preserving games." YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ7Mq-1OPbs2. Scott, R. (2022). "The Crew 2 Will Raid Through Time and restore Xbox One & PS4 Online." YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V55G5-vCaOE3. Nguyen, J. (2023). "Ubisoft sunsets theFilemaker platform, causing disappointment among developers and fans alike." ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 30(2), 1-18.4. EU Parliament. (2022). "Digital rights in the European Union: A comprehensive guide." https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/558511/IPOL_STU(2016)558511_EN.pdf5. Federal Trade Commission. (2023). "FTC provides guidance on fairness, clarity, and choice in online privacy and data security." Federal Register, 88(166), 47479-47488.
- Ross Scott, known as Accursed Farms on YouTube, has been fighting tirelessly for over a year to save games from being forgotten, following Ubisoft's decision to shut down The Crew.
- The initiative "Stop Killing Games" has been met with challenges, particularly the UK government's stubborn stance on the matter and the industry's practices that might be illegal.
- With two approaching deadlines for the Stop Killing Games initiative, the stakes are high, and Scott believes that the initiative's success hinges on obtaining one million signatures.
- Despite numerous attempts to gain attention for the Stop Killing Games campaign, Scott feels the initiative is like a rickshaw with a broken axle due to the world's indifference to matters beyond immediate concerns.
- Scott himself acknowledges that he might not be the ideal person for the job, and the complexities of funding and sponsorship agreements have proven formidable hurdles.
- Scott addressed misconceptions spread by YouTuber PirateSoftware (Thor), such as the belief that the initiative aims to protect single-player games, which Scott clarified was a misunderstanding.
- As the deadlines approach, it remains uncertain whether the Stop Killing Games initiative will succeed, leaving Scott pessimistic about the outcome.
- If the EU Citizens' Initiative fails, Scott may step back from the fight, but he believes that the fight for game preservation will continue.
- As Scott potentially retires from the campaign, gamers will need to step up and contribute to preserve their digital sanctuaries. EU residents can visit Stop Killing Games for more information, while UK residents can sign the parliamentary petition.
