Developers warned they may be breaking the law by making video games unplayable

Members of the UK Parliament are warning video game developers that they may be breaking consumer protection laws by shutting down servers and making purchased games unplayable. The concerns were raised in a Westminster Hall debate, which was prompted by a petition signed by nearly 190,000 people. The core issue is that consumers are often not informed at the point of sale that a game they purchase might become unplayable at a later date when online servers are shut down. This practice is seen as unfair, especially when games have offline components or when a game is rendered entirely inaccessible. Parliamentarians argue that consumers should have the right to retain ownership and playability of games they have paid for, similar to how they expect to keep physical goods. They are not asking for perpetual server support but rather for publishers to avoid actively disabling games and to ensure some form of playability remains. The government has stated that it has no current plans to amend consumer law but acknowledges that the practice could be perceived as a breach of unfair trading regulations by hiding crucial information from consumers. They ... download the app to read more