GOG Boss Says We May Get “Fewer Games” If Regulators Force Devs To Maintain Them Forever

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The head of GOG, a digital game store, has commented on why Anthem is being taken offline. They suggest that if game companies are legally required to maintain games indefinitely, we might see fewer new games being created in the future.

I was reading Eurogamer the other day, and GOG’s boss, Maciej Gołębiewski, was talking about Anthem getting shut down. He said it’s awesome that people are finally talking about preserving games, but it gets complicated when you’re dealing with games that need an internet connection to even work. It’s a tough problem, basically.

He explained that the gaming industry needs to have a larger conversation about how long games should remain available after their initial release—what constitutes a reasonable lifespan. Should games simply be shut down, preventing access for players and developers who spent years creating them? He believes the ‘Stop Killing Games’ movement arose from frustration with this issue and has sparked a complex, important discussion.

Following the removal of The Crew from sale, a lobbying group called Stop Killing Games was created in April 2024. According to Gołębiewski, while government regulation seems helpful right now, laws about preserving video games – especially those that are constantly updated like many modern live-service games – could unintentionally cause problems down the road.

Our goal is for games to have a lasting presence. However, if we place too many requirements on developers regarding long-term maintenance, it could discourage them from making games in the first place. They might hesitate to invest time and money into a project if they’re also responsible for supporting it for a decade or more, as a regulator might demand. This could ultimately mean fewer innovative games for players. I don’t have all the answers right now, but it’s positive that we’re having this conversation.

It’s really sad to say, but Anthem is officially unplayable as of January 12th. As an online game, you can’t just jump in and fly around Coda anymore now that EA has shut down the servers. It’s a total bummer, and it just goes to show that nothing lasts forever – I remember reading an article about this back in July 2025 where TopMob talked about how Ubisoft did the same thing with The Crew back in March 2024, taking it offline for good.

Following an announcement that Amazon will remove its game New World: Aeternum from all platforms on January 31, 2027, Gołębiewski expressed concerns. He personally fears that Electronic Arts might do the same to Full Circle’s skateboarding game, Skate, in the future. While Skate currently maintains a steady player base of around 3,500 according to SteamDB, it’s hard to predict how long Electronic Arts will continue to support it.

During a July 2025 meeting with shareholders, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot explained that while they offer ongoing support for games like The Crew, that support isn’t guaranteed indefinitely. He emphasized that all services eventually come to an end, and it’s not possible to maintain every game forever.

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2026-01-15 23:11