The creator of iconic Half-Life YouTube collection Freeman’s Thoughts has launched a brand new marketing campaign in opposition to publishers that shut, shutdown, or in any other case bar entry to videogames that gamers have already bought. Ross Scott, additionally identified through his YouTube channel identify Accursed Farms, beforehand introduced that he was contemplating methods to deliver authorized consideration to this industry-wide observe after Ubisoft confirmed it could shut servers for racing recreation The Crew on Sunday March 31. With that date now handed, Scott has launched a brand new web site known as Cease Killing Video games, which outlines the marketing campaign’s goals whereas guiding would-be supporters to quite a lot of platforms that they could use to protest or petition “the observe of publishers destroying videogames they’ve bought to clients.”
Well-known for the continued Freeman’s Thoughts collection, which provides a voice to Valve’s iconic mute hero, and narrates his journey by means of each Half-Life and Half-Life 2, Scott beforehand launched a video particularly addressing the shutdown of The Crew’s on-line servers, and outlining potential concepts for authorized or political motion in opposition to the observe of closing long-running or live-service video games, such because the Ubisoft racing recreation, that buyers have already purchased.
Lately, on-line servers for video games together with Battlefield Dangerous Firm 1 and a pair of, Friday the thirteenth, and the unique Overwatch have been closed down. Multiplayer providers for Murderer’s Creed 2, Murderer’s Creed Brotherhood, and Splinter Cell Conviction, amongst others, have been shuttered at the start of 2024. The web providers for quite a lot of F1 video games have been just lately discontinued by EA. On the Cease Killing Video games web site, Scott outlines the objective of his new marketing campaign.
“An rising variety of videogames are bought as items, however designed to be utterly unplayable for everybody as quickly as assist ends,” Scott says. “The legality of this observe is untested worldwide, and lots of governments would not have clear legal guidelines relating to these actions. It’s our objective to have authorities look at this habits and hopefully finish it, as it’s an assault on each shopper rights and preservation of media.”
Scott outlines two ways in which the marketing campaign will pursue its objectives. Firstly, the YouTuber describes “prices being pressed in opposition to Ubisoft,” particularly in connection to the closure of The Crew’s on-line providers. Secondly, Scott highlights authorities petitions relating to videogame shopper rights which have begun within the UK, Canada, and Australia.
“The videogame The Crew, printed by Ubisoft, was just lately destroyed for all gamers and had a playerbase of not less than 12 million individuals,” Scott writes. “Because of the recreation’s measurement and France’s sturdy shopper safety legal guidelines, this represents top-of-the-line alternatives to carry a writer accountable for this motion. If we’re profitable in prices being pressed in opposition to Ubisoft, this could have a ripple impact on the videogames {industry} to forestall publishers from destroying extra video games.”
In 2018, Ubisoft printed a weblog put up explaining that The Crew had attracted 12 million gamers. As on Sunday March 31, 2024, when the sport’s on-line providers have been closed, 187 individuals have been enjoying The Crew concurrently on Steam.
PCGamesN contacted Ubisoft relating to this story, nevertheless it declined to supply remark.
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