Last year, The Past Present Show had the amazing opportunity to interview Ross Scott, the man that began the Stop Killing Games Movement, an initiative focused on the preservation of video games. At the time, the initiative was in the early stages. Signatures were being taken, avenues were being explored, but overall, there were a lot of things up in the air. Even though the initiative had crossed the threshold for debate in the European Commission, the path ahead was cloudy.

Fast forward to today, that road is now clear and bright.

The Stop Destroying Videogames European Citizens Initiative closed on July 31, 2025. In order for Commission representatives to act on the petition, it needed a total of one million signatures. As coverage previously stated, this was a point of worry. June 2025 saw signatures reach 450,000, and growth was stagnating. Additionally, the initiative would have likely needed more than the original one million signatures due to the need for verifications of validity. The molehill was quickly becoming a mountain.

At the time of closing, the initiative reached a final signature count of 1,448,271, with an estimated 97% valid signature count.

This promising development showed just how important and meaningful this movement was. Clearly, the player base was speaking out in favor of the ideals being brought forward by the initiative. Even Scott himself said that this was a point where the timeline would changed, saying “without [Stop Killing Games], The Crew would have been just another shut down.” Scott is correct on this. This movement is attempting to throw a wrench in the current system, giving players more than just negative thoughts and grumbling voices.

With the massive amount of work that Scott put into this undertaking, he understandably took this point in process as a time for him to step back. In his wrap up video posted on August 4th, 2025, Scott said, “I know a lot of people found out about Stop Killing Games just recently, but I’ve been going at it hard for over a year and half now, and I wasn’t exactly well-rested prior to that.” He continues in the video to say that his plan was to be on a standby break, where he will step in where he is needed.

There was a small lull in information from this point until the next year. On January 26th, 2026, the team behind Stop Killing Games revealed that the final count of valid signatures reached 1,294,188, meaning that their goal had been met. Following this, the European Commission stated that discussion on the initiative needed to take place before July 27th, 2026, where there would have to be a public hearing and a reply outlining any actions it intended to take.

With a date in sight, things understandably started to feel real. This information represented a proverbial light at the end of a long, dark tunnel that these organizations and individuals were

wading through. What followed was more fantastic developments, like the creation of

non-governmental organizations that could focus on counter-lobbying against efforts to bring down the movement. There were also a press conference held between members of the Stop Killing Games team and members of the EU Parliament, where conversations took place around the importance of campaigning as well as the presentation of the Digital Fairness Act to the European Commission.

The public hearing at the European Parliament was held on April 16, 2026. It was at this hearing where the movement got the most eyes on its ideals. Scott was invited to speak at the hearing, where he was able to clarify the goals of the movement, share statistics related to the usability of games that were discontinued, and highlight the ridiculous practices consumers were forced to endure.

As of now, we essentially play the waiting game while legal processes take time to go through their steps. The official response from the European Parliament is set for June 17th, 2026. While we twiddle our thumbs waiting for new information, figures are making their moves in the background, with an invitation-only meeting taking place with the European Commission hosted by Video Games Europe. While this meeting may seem to be just another bureaucratic gathering, the attendance of Ubisoft’s CEO Yves Guillemot sparked worry. Stop Killing Games penned an open letter to the public, where clarification was given to the misdirections given by the European video game lobby, as well as summaries of the massive goals that have been achieved in support of consumer protections.

While the Stop Killing Games initiative started as a relatively small criticism of practices in the video game industry, it has shown that no voice is too small when it comes to fighting for the rights and fairness due to consumers.

To stay informed about Ross Scott’s Stop Killing Games initiative, visit the Stop Killing Games website.

Be sure to check out my other articles as well as the interview with Ross Scott discussing the Stop Killing Games initiative. The video is below.