European gamers demand digital rights for all: Inside the “Stop destroying videogames” initiative

European gamers demand digital rights for all: Inside the “Stop destroying videogames” initiative | European Citizens´ Initiative Forum

Pavel is a 25-year-old software engineering student at the Unicorn University of Prague, the Czech Republic, and is a passionate gamer. He is one of the leading figures with the European citizens’ initiative Stop Destroying Videogames, which advocates for the preservation of digital games as cultural heritage and seeks to prevent game publishers from revoking access to purchased content.

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TL;DR

Pavel, a 25-year-old gaming student from Prague, is fronting the “Stop Destroying Videogames” European Citizens’ Initiative to stop publishers from yanking the digital rug out from under gamers. Right now, many titles go offline forever when servers shut down—meaning you lose access to games you’ve paid for—and Pavel’s crew wants EU law to guarantee that bought games stay playable and preserved as cultural heritage.

Since kicking off, they’ve racked up over 440,000 signatures (with a million targeted by July 2025), scored early wins like Ubisoft adding offline modes, and rallied more than 5,000 volunteer “gamers-turned-activists” on Discord. No big budget, just pure passion, a dash of legal muscle (hello, EU consumer-rights directives) and cross-border support from groups like the Pirate Party and GOG to keep our gaming history alive.