UK government says it won't change the rules on publishers taking videogames offline after selling them: 'We have no plans to amend existing consumer law on digital obsolescence'

pcgamer.com:

The UK government has again responded to a petition demanding it change the law to prevent developers and publishers from taking games that have already been sold offline, reiterating its position of no, it won't do that.

Less than a year ago, the UK governmentresponded to a petition by theStop Killing Games campaign, demanding it change the rules on digital obsolescence to stop developers disabling games that had already been sold. At the time, the government said there was no requirement in UK law for game developers to support old software. But the petition was closed early due to the general election.

Now, with a new parliament sitting,another petition has been created, similarly demanding that «the government should update consumer law to prohibit publishers from disabling videogames they have already sold without recourse for customers to retain or repair them». Going further, it argues that «most videogames sold can work indefinitely, but some have design elements that render the product non-functional at a time which the publisher controls,» which the petition claims is a form of «planned obsolescence».

The petition, which was created by Lewis Evans, will run for six months, and has gained 12,956 signatures at the time of writing. The government responds to any petition that gains more than 10,000 signatures, and has done so here, issuing a lengthy reply in which it more or less reiterates the position of the previous government. Although it «recognises concerns raised by videogames users regarding the operability of purchased products,» it declares «we have no plans to amend consumer law on digital obsolescence».

Going into more detail, the Government says videogame sellers «must comply with existing consumer law», which includes 2015's Consumer Rights Act (CRA) and 2008's Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs). The CRA mandates that a product or service supplied by a trader must be «of satisfactory quality, fit for a particular purpose