European Commission rejects new laws for Stop Destroying Videogames

In other news, this quarter Ubisoft will put on the balance sheet a funny, large expense, labeled "Other - Bruxelles".

Meeting with lobbyist at invite only sessions days before the announcement. Yup, bunch of cunts they are.

It's worth watching Ross' latest video, where he explains that this was somewhat expected due to the commission regularly meeting with industry lobbiests behind the scenes. He also explains that the commission isn't really relevant to the situation any more and can be bypassed due to existing legislation being amended.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CgoODQFrPgw

Yeah, the European Commission is basically the regulator. This isn't exactly related to the Stop Killing Games petition, that's for the European Parliament.

And the scumbags sharing this as if they are the saviours of gaming...

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/192dsbqWCJ/

I think that's a perfectly fair and reasonable position:

Under EU consumer law consumers must be informed about the duration and conditions of a video game’s lifespan.
If the supply is stopped earlier than the contract states, players should be reimbursed.

Last edited by coolitic on 16 Jun 2026 at 3:19 pm UTC

Please note that this response was fully expected.
The Commission is basically just a mouth piece for lobby propaganda. It has never been any different and would have been a true miracle if there was any other result.

Thankfully, we don't really need to care because the SKG Initiative (and the EU parliament majority behind it) will "simply" latch onto and amend the Digital Fairness Act to include the initiatives goals instead.
That will take a few months, though, because while the DFA is guaranteed to happen, it hasn't reached that parliament stage making amendmends possible YET.

Ross explains this fairly well:
https://youtu.be/CgoODQFrPgw?t=668 (timestamped)

Last edited by TheSHEEEP on 16 Jun 2026 at 6:17 pm UTC

If I read the response correctly, music lobby did not understood this initiative, and in the doubt they vetoed it.

Nothing new under european sun.

The problem aren't the companies that sell shit as-a-service software and then pull the plug leaving you holding a useless client. The problem is the collective stupidity of users that constantly buy into that crap.

Just let nature do its thing, don't get in the way of its selection and let suckers get burned into oblivion. If you push laws the prevent this type of scam they'll buy into another.

It's also such a trivial problem when compared with the mountain of autocratic shit that we have to deal with that you can argue that we're wasting time and energy arguing about it.

More examples of how our governments are almost completely under the control of billionaires. Humanity needs a revolution to overthrow all of these companies and the governments that do their bidding.

Quoting: seflasporinYeah, the European Commission is basically the regulator. This isn't exactly related to the Stop Killing Games petition, that's for the European Parliament.

This is exactly the right answer. It's the Parliament Committed the main driver and sponsor of this initiative.

I think the main issue is that companies don't provide enough information on their websites when they sell games with DRM. Secondly, companies and customers use the term "buy" or "purchase" instead of "rent" when they talk on DRM games.

I think users should start talking on renting games if they require internet activation to play them. Some companies will follow this practice if we want it.

From my perspective, I'm not a fan of DRM games that require online activation to play because I won't play them in the future.

I like the DRM-free games, but I'm not a fan of them. You can play these games for Linux until you or your company has a backup of files. I don't want to deal with lost or corrupted files.

In my view, the best games are shareware games with offline activation that require a code, names, or email. When I have the key that I bought, or I can still purchase it, then I can download a shareware version to activate it without issues. I wish that companies would get back to this business practice and help us purchase games in this way.

I dream about a company similar to GOG that sells offline codes to unsupported shareware games. It would be beneficial for many users and companies. That should be a middle ground between users and companies, with a protection that won't be annoying for us.

Quoting: devlandThe problem aren't the companies that sell shit as-a-service software and then pull the plug leaving you holding a useless client. The problem is the collective stupidity of users that constantly buy into that crap.

Yeah, it's ultimately our collective fault for enabling this behavior by buying their products. I agree. While I do admire the grassroots effort to try and lobby governments for support, I know better than to go into it with any expectations of a positive result.

As someone that does not live in the EU, I couldn't imagine having ANOTHER layer of government that governs our government. That sounds like it could only result in a total disaster. They're probably twice as useless as any federal government. Or maybe I'm being ignorant? Maybe the EU is just this spotless utopia where politicians never dodge the questions they're asked, crime rates are low, the internet is the fastest in the world, and RAM and GPU prices are what they were in 2010.

Quoting: Eocene84More examples of how our governments are almost completely under the control of billionaires. Humanity needs a revolution to overthrow all of these companies and the governments that do their bidding.

You forgot one very important part of the problem - us. We already do have the power to decide which companies should fail or succeed, and we already do have the power to demand that our governments behave like public servants - we always did. We just choose not to.

Quoting: SlaxerAs someone that does not live in the EU, I couldn't imagine having ANOTHER layer of government that governs our government. That sounds like it could only result in a total disaster.

That's not how the EU works.

The EU is a collective of countries that willfully cooperate for the benefit of everyone involved. It's one big free trade deal essentially with the caveat that it's not actually free. There are lots of terms and conditions that ALL countries have to agree to and they do that because they stand to benefit from all that juicy trade. Free worker movement is part of it because people are, from a capitalistic perspective, human resources. If carrots can freely cross borders within the union then so can manpower ergo people.

And, no, the EU isn't a government on top of another government. It's a collective of governments that propose rules and regulations that only come into effect when ALL parties involved agree to implementing them so there is no small inner circle of people governing over the entire union like how federations usually work. That's why becoming a member takes so much time. New members have to get their laws on track with those of the EU before they join. And they do so willingly. Nobody forces you to join and you can leave at any time.

It's not an utopia. It has a lot of problems that may be familiar to you like corporate lobbying influencing policies and elections as well as constant bickering between members because what siblings don't do that? :)

Overall, though, I think it's a good thing. Individually, member countries don't have nowhere near the same leverage when dealing with other bigger countries. But together we are strong and our diversity and adaptability are not only the union's strengths but also the defining characteristics of mankind.

You forgot one very important part of the problem - us. We already do have the power to decide which companies should fail or succeed, and we already do have the power to demand that our governments behave like public servants - we always did. We just choose not to.

Revolutions don't work. They just replace one ruling class with another.

The only way to build something for everyone is through compromise. And compromise implies having political representation for all people including for those that don't want to play nice.

When you marginalize and ignore the wants of a group of people, regardless how crazy they may seem, that's when the fires of revolution and instability start burning and we all stand to lose from that.

Last edited by devland on 16 Jun 2026 at 5:48 pm UTC

Quoting: devlandThat's not how the EU works.

Yeah, I bet. Though I am very skeptical of the EU, I'll admit that I'm being ignorant here. I don't know how the EU government works.

Quoting: devlandAnd, no, the EU isn't a government on top of another government.

Does the EU have the power to influence or veto the way a European country governs itself? Are they funded with your tax dollars? If yes to either of those, then they are a government on top of your government.

Quoting: devlandOverall, though, I think it's a good thing. Individually, member countries don't have nowhere near the same leverage when dealing with other bigger countries. But together we are strong and our diversity and adaptability are not only the union's strengths but also the defining characteristics of mankind.

If you're happy with it, I'm happy with it.

Quoting: devlandRevolutions don't work. They just replace one ruling class with another.

They do work. The United States was formed out of a revolution. Though not quite something I'd define as a "revolution", I did witness a nearly month long protest involving a lot of civil disobedience in my country a few years ago that yielded great results. It's not that revolutions don't work, I think you're just supposed to do them routinely, like changing out a child's diaper or taking out the trash. I do NOT condone violence, however, I think Thomas Jefferson said it best when he said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time by the blood of patriots and tyrants". I'll also add that revolutions do not have to be violent. They can be as simple as boycotting a game company for shipping an incomplete and broken game, or for including invasive anti-cheat software. Gandhi successfully revolted against the British government by starving himself.

Last edited by Slaxer on 16 Jun 2026 at 6:16 pm UTC

Quoting: Slaxer

Quoting: Eocene84More examples of how our governments are almost completely under the control of billionaires. Humanity needs a revolution to overthrow all of these companies and the governments that do their bidding.

You forgot one very important part of the problem - us. We already do have the power to decide which companies should fail or succeed, and we already do have the power to demand that our governments behave like public servants - we always did. We just choose not to.

And it has happened. Just look at Bud Light and Target in the United States.

Quoting: devlandThe only way to build something for everyone is through compromise. And compromise implies having political representation for all people including for those that don't want to play nice.

Compromise is not exactly easy to achieve in a capitalist society that advocates for competition over cooperation. There is no victory in compromise...

Myself, I would love to see more cooperation and compromise but it's not part of our current social mindset.

Quoting: Caldathras

Quoting: devlandThe only way to build something for everyone is through compromise. And compromise implies having political representation for all people including for those that don't want to play nice.

Compromise is not exactly easy to achieve in a capitalist society that advocates for competition over cooperation. There is no victory in compromise...

Myself, I would love to see more cooperation and compromise but it's not part of our current social mindset.

Agreed.

Look at the nordic European countries. Their social democracy works very well and it's based on compromise. They almost never have one party ruling over the others. It's always all of them working with the others to get some of the things each of them wants.

You get to a system like that either through years of education that pushes for cooperation or through strict laws that prohibit political majorities.

Capitalism banned monopolies but that's still ok in politics. We need to fix that.

Quoting: SlaxerDoes the EU have the power to influence or veto the way a European country governs itself? Are they funded with your tax dollars? If yes to either of those, then they are a government on top of your government.

1 - No. Each member is self governed. Members have the power to veto EU legislation, not the other way around.
For something to become EU law ALL members need to agree to it.

2 - The EU is funded with contributions from all members and all members get EU funds for their own development based on who needs the money the most. This last part is actually the most controversial aspect of the union because some countries think they pay more while getting less but they always ignore every other benefit the union gives them like cheap labor from all the corners of the union and tax free trade within the union.

They do work. The United States was formed out of a revolution.

I don't want to be disrespectful but the fact that multiple states are governed by one small group of people, i.e. the federal government, didn't exactly turn out well in the end since it allowed for a two party system to ping-pong the country from liberalism to wannabe autocracy in a never ending cycle.

The other big federal union, Russia, also didn't turn out too great either. :|

My take is that northern European social democracies have the best system so far. They are always governed by multiple parties working together to reach compromises and never one single entity that ends up pissing off everyone else.

Violent revolution doesn't work. The new people that take over eventually get corrupted by power like the ones before. Human history is a never ending list of examples where empires and kingdoms rose and fell one after another. We need to cooperate if we want to prosper as a species. Otherwise we'll just have more lords and serfs.

Anyway, we've digressed quite a bit but I enjoyed the conversation. :)