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--- stop_killing_games [2025/07/29 12:57] – ultracomfy
+++ stop_killing_games [2025/09/01 12:21] (current) – ultracomfy
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 Yes, national or international law supersedes contents of a TOS or EULA, //as long as such law exists in the first place//. At this point in time, a law prohibiting games publishers from doing shit with their games does //not// exist, so they conceivably //can// just do fuck all with them. This is why platforms like Steam are ticking time bombs, as they can just shut down at any moment and send you a big "fuck you" with a picture of a middle finger. The only reason they don't is because - at this moment - it's more profitable to continue doing what they're doing. Once it's not, they can shut down and the thousands you or someone you know invested into video games could be gone forever.
-However, the statement claims that "these IP rights enable investment". **Enable** investment. This is //not// correct. Even if games are mandatory to be left in a playable state, there is nothing preventing anyone from making investment into new games. Yes, just a tad of extra foresight would be required, because publishers and programmers now have to structure their game in a way that allows home users and communities to self-host once official support ceases.
+However, the statement claims that "these IP rights enable investment". **Enable** investment. This is //not// correct. Even if games are mandatory to be left in a playable state, there is nothing preventing anyone from making investment into new games. Like, you can invest into the design of a new car and sell it as a whole, this is how the market worked for decades - it is not "necessary" to force users into a "seat heating subscription", that kind of thing does not "enable" investment. Investment has always been a thing. Yes, just a tad of extra foresight would be required, because publishers and programmers now have to structure their game in a way that allows home users and communities to self-host once official support ceases.
 Requiring forethought in the design process of a product is not new. There are a myriad of legal considerations for all kinds of programs, think of all the rules and regulations for road cars, especially internationally: Designing a car means collecting a list of all the applicable expectations a car needs to fulfill - what kinds of lights, emissions, vehicle dimensions, parts dimensions, weight, the list of limitations //will// not end((And this is just for one single country!)) and frankly it must be a miracle to Video Games Europe to think that with so many rules anyone can still invest into auto-making. Or rather video games publishers have been enjoying what us Germans call "Narrenfreiheit" - a position of being special, in that one is allowed to do things that would be considered unacceptable for anyone else. They love their special treatment and they would like to keep it.