Stop Killing Games Warns EU Kids Act Threatens Gaming Industry

Stop Killing Games, the consumer advocacy group founded by YouTuber Ross Scott, has raised alarms about the European Union’s recently proposed Kids Act, characterizing it as a fundamental threat to the gaming industry’s future operations. The proposal was officially published on September 17, 2026. According to the European Commission’s official outline, it aims “to protect minors from risky digital services and AI systems, uphold the digital single market and maintain a coherent regulatory framework and enforcement structure for the protection of minors online.”

Scott’s concerns were initially based on a leaked version of the proposal, but he confirmed that the segments featured in his video align exactly with the official version subsequently published by the European Commission. His video calls the legislation “a bomb that could implode the whole video games industry” and argues that the proposal uses child protection concerns as a framing for broader regulatory ambitions.

Regulatory Requirements That Concern Advocates

Age Verification and Personal Data

Among Scott’s primary objections is a requirement that would “require your personal identifying information to play an online video game.” This age verification mandate represents one of the most problematic elements within the 99-page proposal. The regulation would apply to players attempting to access online gaming services, necessitating identity verification that raises privacy concerns for consumers across the European Union.

The proposal’s “Safety By Design” chapter, formally Chapter III, sets out protective measures that digital services must implement for minors. Age verification sits at the center of these requirements, forcing platforms to collect and process personal data from gamers.

Private Server Prohibitions

A second major concern is that the proposal would “make all private game servers illegal.” The implications of such a ban would be severe for the gaming community, eliminating privately hosted multiplayer environments that have been fundamental to online gaming since its inception. Community-run servers, which allow players to customize game rules, mods, and hosting arrangements, would become illegal across all EU member states.

This regulation would fundamentally reshape how multiplayer games operate in the European Union and eliminate options that players have relied on for decades.

Scott’s Broader Critique of the Proposal

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Claims About the True Intent

Scott frames the EU Kids Act as “the most draconian proposal I’ve ever seen regarding video games and consumers.” He emphasizes that his objections go beyond surface-level concerns about social media or artificial intelligence regulation. “Curbing social media and AI has nothing to do with why this is such a horrible law proposal,” Scott states, insisting that the gaming industry faces an unprecedented regulatory threat from the proposal’s other provisions.

He argues the proposal uses the ever-looming threat of AI and the protection of “minors from risky digital services” as a “cover” for its true aims, referring to these justifications as a “mask to hide what else is in there.”

Definitional Ambiguity and Unintended Scope

How the Proposal Defines Video Games

A critical issue underlying the entire proposal is how it defines what constitutes a video game under its regulatory framework. According to the EU Kids Act, a video game qualifies as “an information society service.” This terminology carries a specific legal meaning under existing European law that could extend the proposal’s reach significantly.

Under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, an “information society service” is defined as “any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by electronic means and at the individual request of a recipient of services.” In practical terms, this includes anything sold through online digital distribution channels, from multiplayer titles to single-player experiences.

The Clarity Problem

Scott argues that applying this definition creates problematic ambiguity. The phrase “is as clear as mud,” he suggests, and this lack of clarity could allow age verification requirements to apply to any game purchased through a digital storefront, regardless of whether that game features any online connectivity whatsoever. A single-player title purchased through digital platforms could theoretically fall under the proposal’s age verification mandate.

This interpretation would capture virtually all contemporary gaming purchases on major platforms. The definition’s breadth means compliance obligations could extend far beyond multiplayer-focused titles, affecting the entire digital games market.

Market Disruption and Industry Challenges

The Acceleration Toward All-Digital Distribution

The proposal’s impact becomes particularly acute given current industry trends. Steam operates exclusively as a digital storefront, meaning every game sold through it would potentially fall under the proposal’s requirements. Additionally, Sony has announced it will end disc production for all new PlayStation games by 2028, accelerating the industry’s shift toward all-digital distribution.

Such moves mean that PlayStation titles would eventually fall entirely under the EU Kids Act’s regulatory framework if the proposal passes in its current form. Physical media would no longer serve as an alternative distribution method for new releases in the PlayStation ecosystem.

Compliance and Viability Concerns

If the proposal becomes law as currently written, the viability of operating gaming services across the European Union faces serious questions. Publishers would confront costly compliance obligations involving identity verification infrastructure. Smaller indie developers and independent publishers might face particular difficulty implementing extensive age verification and data collection systems, potentially making the EU market less accessible to them.

The Legislative Process and Path Forward

Early-Stage Proposal Status

The EU Kids Act remains in the proposal stage, representing the earliest phase of the European Union’s legislative process. Before the European Parliament and the EU Council reach voting stages on the legislation, the proposal will undergo review and likely amendments. The document is far from finalized, and significant changes may occur before any vote takes place.

Stop Killing Games’ Public Awareness Campaign

Scott concludes his video with a direct appeal for public engagement: “The best thing you can do is spread the word on this. The people who write this crap do not like it when the public at large knows what they’re trying to do to you. If everyone in gaming understood what the EU Kids Act is trying to do, it wouldn’t have a chance of passing. So, let’s let people know!”

This call to action reflects Stop Killing Games’ strategy of generating public awareness before the proposal advances through legislative channels. The group believes that widespread understanding of the proposal’s actual content would generate sufficient opposition to prevent passage.

Source: Kotaku