While this isn’t just restricted to games released on Steam, there is a growing murmur amongst gamers who are missing out on recent games, due to live services or servers being removed entirely. As these games require a constant connection to said servers, they are unplayable, and thus considered to be ‘dead’ games.

Is there anything that can be done?

Not yet, but the biggest movement is Stop Killing Games, which seeks to fill a petition for the EU to discuss this and potentially pass new laws to protect the consumer rights and allowing users to keep video games they have purchased, including the ability to continue to play them without an existing server.

As they state on their site:

An increasing number of video games are sold effectively as goods, with no stated expiration date, but designed to be completely unplayable as soon support from the publisher ends. This practice is a form of planned obsolescence and is not only detrimental to customers, but makes preservation effectively impossible. Furthermore, the legality of this practice is largely untested in many countries.

The majority of their arguments as to why this is necessary can be found on their FAQ page, which does coincide with why many titles are removed from Steam.

What are they asking for exactly?

Long story short, this is what they want from the EU:

• The right to own games in perpetuity, and not just a license to own until the developer/publisher/license expires
• The ability to save the game on their systems after the license expires
• For games requiring an online element (like verification servers), the ability to continue running the game offline
• For MMORPGs, the ability to create your own private server for other users to join, or peer to peer gaming via a patch

So, what is something we can’t ask for?

They are not asking for the following:

• Endless support from the developer/publisher for the game, even if they have already closed up shop
• The ability to share your purchased games with other users (i.e. piracy)
• The compulsory release of the original source code to fix bugs or create new features etc
• Transferring the copyright of the game/franchise into the public domain, or giving up the rights to the game
• Continue to allow games to be purchased, even after their license has expired

So, all in all?

This isn’t going to stop publishers from ending the sale of a game, since they can never be sold forever, however, this is just one step to ensure the preservation of games as they are now while they still work. Making it law in the EU would force the companies to make the same requirements globally.

The ability to ‘own’ a game has changed since the days of the Atari, SNES and PS2. Most games have an online component now, even just for patches, but once the system they’re on is superseded, or a license expires, you may never be able to play it again if something prevents you from connecting to the game.

Perhaps, one day, we can still enjoy these games the way they were meant to be played…