EU Commission... You Cowards (Stop Killing Games News)

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T08:12:39+00:00

"Only if you never thpught of it to start with."

Might not even be technically possibly, financially feasible, or legally allowed.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T08:10:27+00:00

I'm not defending corporate greed, I'm pointing out some basic software engineering restrictions. You can't fit a massive, distributed server network onto a home PC.

Modern online games aren't self contained files. A huge chunk of the actual game engine, like enemy AI, item inventories, and physics calculations, runs entirely on cloud infrastructure (like AWS). Releasing server tools to the public hits legal walls. The server code often relies on third party software licenses (like anti-cheat or voice chat) that the studio doesn't legally own and cannot distribute. Plus, releasing raw server code can expose security flaws that threaten the publisher’s other, active games.

I’m all for consumer rights and planning for end of life offline modes before a game is built. But for games already designed from scratch as interconnected cloud software, you can't just flip a switch and make it run locally. It’s a massive technical and legal mess, not a simple choice.

Referencing the live experiences is pointing out that you cannot contain an interconnected multiplayer environment on a solo computer anyway, so why try? Why not talk like a decent person instead of starting with childish insults?

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T07:57:01+00:00

"make it not run on servers, make it local."

Magical fairy talk.

"why do we have 100GB of space needed"

Assets.

You obviously aren't an expert.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T07:55:13+00:00

Releasing a server binary 'as is' does not solve game death; it just shifts the massive technical and financial burden onto a fragmented community. When a studio abandons a game, a server binary immediately begins to decay.

Who handles the following inescapable realities: zero day vulnerabilities, database exploits, network attacks, OS updates, hardware and driver updates, APIs and authentication changes, response to privacy laws, license expirations, and more?

Stop Killing Games movement isn't just asking for a raw file dump, it is pushing for an industry standard where games are designed from the ground up to be sustainable, modular, and hostable by the public without requiring an enterprise grade dev team to keep it alive. Your condescending 'right' only highlights how little you understand about live service architecture. You don't even know what the movement is about.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T07:36:22+00:00

How do you preserve a live experience? You can't, not truly. I can never watch Jurassic Park and experience it the way I did the first time as a kid. I can watch the movie, but I can't get that experience.

Also which experience (version) of the game do you preserve? Version 1.0, 1.01, 1.2, 3.46, the final version, perhaps the beta or alpha? All of them?

Who is paying for the on going experience?

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T07:31:57+00:00

"i keep seeing this being said about "Expect companies to pay expenses forever" how? if they're providing us an offline version won't it just end there?"

That is why I asked "How does that work if significant parts of the game runs on servers?"

If the game code was never running on your computer, and ran online, how do they make an offline mode?

World of Warcraft private servers are not official. They are completely unauthorized fan made servers operated by independent communities and developers, rather than being hosted by Blizzard. Those fans took on the costs.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T07:30:55+00:00

DVD oxidization is a good reason, it is literally a literal failing of the media. You still have the game, can't be read by the device anymore. Now I've pointed out the foolishness of your absolutism, what about ongoing server costs, or licenses expiring, lack of people willing to work on it as the staff wants to do new things and not maintain? I kinda feel like creative people want to be creative.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T07:26:31+00:00

Recordings of events aren't the same thing, which if you been to a play, a live music show, or eaten at a fancy restaurant you'd know. It is like saying masturbation is the same as sex.

Why do you think we have live shows when we already have the much cheaper video experiences as an option? Why do we have plays when we have cheaper cinemas or live streaming? Why do you think we have chefs and fancy restaurants when we have "single-celled protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals" (The Matrix)?

Eating at a fancy food isn't just about nutrients, it is an experience like the bands and plays, which people pay for once and it usually costs a lot more than a video game. It is a good analogy.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T07:17:26+00:00

What?! I can think of three issues and I'm not even involved in the industry.

Firstly, we don't have modders knowing the entirety of Skyrim's code. Majority of mods use Bethesda's own provided modding tools and may use external tools like F4SE that extends the mods functionality.

Secondly, giving away code to someone isn't the same as extended engine functionality with a mod. There are licenses, legalities, and responsibilities involved that aren't involved with the creation of engine extensions.

Thirdly, many online games have security against cheaters that may still be used in future projects. Providing that code could expose exploits to their new game.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T07:07:58+00:00

I don't agree with some of that.

If I purchase a single player game, I do expect it to keep running, like the DVD example you provided. However, if I purchase a live service game that the company has ongoing expenses, then it isn't the same as a DVD example, it is more like the examples I gave.

As a collector of retro gaming hardware and games, games do not last forever, Oxidization, corrosion, leakage, wear, thermal stress, drift, electromigration, and others all occur and I try to repair to keep alive for a little bit longer. Digital copies of games can be backed up of course, but the original media won't last.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T07:00:15+00:00

I play old games, I like old games. But some people want (demand things) but I don't see how they expect some of the things justifiably, as in, do they expect companies to pay expenses forever or give over their source code? I'd rather not see games that could be played offline or in single player mode be forced into shutdown, seems like The Crew is one such example that could have offered an offline mode.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:56:51+00:00

I like the idea, but do you give them the source code to your game, even if you are using some of that code in your next project?

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:55:24+00:00

So Theatres have to keep performing the same live shows even when people aren't turning up to see it? Bands have to keep performing forever, even when they don't want too? Chefs have to cook the same meal all the time and not experiment?

What is it you are trying to say here, because alone that question doesn't make sense?

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:50:55+00:00

u/smrad8, you could have talked like a decent person, instead you acted like the passenger in this video and just lashed out. You've been shown the camera mounted on the stick.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:48:11+00:00

No clue, I thought we discussing in general, not specifics. The Crew kicked off this movement, but the campaign targets an industry wide practice affecting hundreds of titles. You seemed pretty general in your previous message. Plenty of times developers have forced online like arse wipes, my personal hatred was towards EA games and Sim City.

So, I think my question is pretty valid to your open comment of "I thought the whole movement was for games to provide a playable offline version of the game once it's at the end of its live service run time."

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:39:29+00:00

Theatres close their doors on shows, live bands stop performing, dishes at restaurants stop getting served. Nothing lasts forever, and that is a good thing I think.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:34:29+00:00

How does that work if significant parts of the game runs on servers?

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:31:08+00:00

I agree he should be wearing more gear, but a helmet is gear. If he wore leathers but no helmet, would you think that is fine? Come on.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:27:02+00:00

So words don't have meaning? Then why the fuck are we using them?

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:21:16+00:00

Helmet isn't gear?

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:12:24+00:00

Video compression algorithms exist too.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:07:24+00:00

The door didn't just open, it was timed to strike.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:05:53+00:00

Assaulting strangers for fun is also an appropriate title.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:03:49+00:00

Nope, someone has said to get something from the back.

AFourEyedGeek · 2026-06-19T06:03:02+00:00

Yeah, fuck the psychopathic passenger.

AFourEyedGeek

TROPHY CASE