Comment by TimFogarty

No, they do not want to force publishers to keep a game online. The initiative just wants developers to provide a way for users to keep using a game after it has gone EOL by allowing users to run their own servers or by no longer requiring internet access.

See the FAQ[1]:

> Aren't you asking companies to support games forever? Isn't that unrealistic?

> A: No, we are not asking that at all. We are in favor of publishers ending support for a game whenever they choose. What we are asking for is that they implement an end-of-life plan to modify or patch the game so that it can run on customer systems with no further support from the company being necessary. We agree that it is unrealistic to expect companies to support games indefinitely and do not advocate for that in any way. Additionally, there are already real-world examples of publishers ending support for online-only games in a responsible way, such as:

> 'Gran Turismo Sport' published by Sony

> 'Knockout City' published by Velan Studios

> 'Mega Man X DiVE' published by Capcom

> 'Scrolls / Caller's Bane' published by Mojang AB

> 'Duelyst' published by Bandai Namco Entertainment

I'm not sure what the question "What does it have to do with democracy?" is referring to. Some people find that no longer having access to video games they paid for isn't fair so are petitioning their governments for consumer protection against that.

[1] https://www.stopkillinggames.com/faq