Commission will engage with industry following European Citizens\' Initiative on the disabling of videogames by publishers
ec.europa.eu
The European Commission will engage with consumers and publishers by the end of 2026 to explore ways to improve industry standards, as a response to the European Citizens\' Initiative (ECI) ‘Stop Destroying Videogames\'.\u202F

Cross posted from https://feddit.org/post/31333476

Existing EU consumer law already provides for important safeguards protecting the economic interests of consumers. Video game providers must inform consumers about the duration and the conditions for terminating the contract before the consumers signs up for the video game. […]

However, to address players’ concerns, the Commission has committed to taking several steps.

First, it will initiate an exchange with the video game industry and consumer representatives with the aim to draw up an industry code of conduct on managing video games’ ‘end of life’.

Second, the Commission will work with consumer organisations and authorities to raise awareness about the applicable rights that protect consumers, including on safeguards protecting the economic interests of consumers

Edit: edited title for more clarity.

  • ampersandrew@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    3 hours ago

    I’m not sure if everything is covered on the Steam game pages, but that is a good first starting point.

    It’s worse than that, actually. They technically provide all of the resources to inform the customer of this stuff, but it isn’t enforced. Palworld used to say that it requires an internet connection in the Steam Deck verified section, but that wasn’t actually true. Every Borderlands game except for BL1 GOTY edition has LAN play, meaning that series will survive a server shutdown, but two of them don’t list it; my guess is that the person managing the page doesn’t know or care. I’ve got a friend, as we speak, looking into which features of 007 First Light still work without an internet connection, which I wouldn’t even know was worth checking if it wasn’t for IO Interactive pulling new shenanigans with the latest Hitman games (he’s being more thorough, but the initial assessment is that it might restrict access to the challenge rooms).

    UPDATE: My friend confirmed the challenge rooms are locked without internet. Bastards.

    • thingsiplay@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1·
      3 hours ago

      Just an example: for First Light on PS5, a download is required to play the game, as only the first mission is on disc. And for those of specific PS5 consoles (listed in the link I will provide) one needs to activate the game to play in the first place. These information can be found here: https://www.doesitplay.org/game/007 First Light/ps5/PS5 Pro?region=PEGI&version=Specialist+Edition

      Without laws enforcing this, and just bringing awareness to consumers, will continue destroying games.

      • ampersandrew@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        3 hours ago

        I don’t have a PS5, and I only play on PC, so every game requires a download to play it. But I do think that if this criteria matters to other folks and this site still doesn’t cover the part that matters to me, it’s demonstrative of all the ways that studios have compromised the products they sold to us.

        • thingsiplay@lemmy.mlEnglish
          2·
          3 hours ago

          I’m also on PC only. I just mentioned that above that even for games on disc its problematic and was just an example. At least they cover everything for console players.