87% of classic video games released in the United States are not in release and count as critically endangered, per the 2023 study by the Video Game History Foundation and the Software Preservation Network. That gap is where abandonware lives. This report tracks the verified numbers behind it: the Stop Killing Games petition, GOG’s Preservation Program, US copyright rulings, and delisting records, all checked against primary sources through mid-2026.
Game Preservation Statistics
How Much Gaming History Is Out of Print?
The Video Game History Foundation and the Software Preservation Network published the first commercial-availability study of classic games in July 2023. It found 87% of classic games released in the US are not in release, leaving 13% of that history purchasable through official channels.
Historians cited the same 87% figure during the US Copyright Office’s October 2024 DMCA proceedings, per TechSpot’s reporting on the ruling. The study defines “classic” as games released before 2010.
Share of Classic US-Released Games by Availability, VGHF/SPN Study 2023
Libraries can digitize these games but, under the study’s findings, can only offer on-premises access, unlike books, film, and audio. Anyone wanting legal browser play today is limited to licensed catalogs and platforms such as this browser-based retro console library.
Source: Video Game History Foundation & Software Preservation Network availability study, July 2023
Why Is Legal Access to Abandonware So Narrow?
The US Copyright Office denied the latest remote-access petition on October 25, 2024, according to the Video Game History Foundation’s statement that day. The Software Preservation Network had asked to let libraries and archives share out-of-print games with researchers remotely.
TechSpot counted this as the fourth rejection of such a request since 2015. The Federal Register entry of October 28, 2024 records the Register’s conclusion that proponents did not show off-premises game access was likely non-infringing.
| Legal Access Metric | Figure | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Classic US-released games not in release | 87% | VGHF/SPN study, 2023 |
| Remote-access requests for games rejected since 2015 | 4 | Counted by TechSpot, Oct 2024 |
| Latest denial of remote library access to games | Oct 25, 2024 | Final rule Oct 28, 2024 |
| Concurrent remote users allowed for preserved non-game software | 1 | 2021 exemption, in force |
Source: VGHF statement and US Federal Register final rule, October 2024; Harvard Cyberlaw Clinic filing summary, January 2024
The asymmetry is on the books. Since the 2021 rulemaking, preserved non-video-game software can be accessed remotely one user at a time, while games stayed excluded, per the Harvard Cyberlaw Clinic’s summary of its 2023 filing for SPN and the Library Copyright Alliance.
Researchers still travel to physical archives to study out-of-print games legally. That constraint keeps unofficial abandonware downloads relevant, and it keeps interest high in legal alternatives like the console pages where you can play retro games online with licensed or self-supplied files.
Stop Killing Games Petition Statistics (2024–2026)
The Stop Killing Games movement started in 2024 under Ross Scott, after Ubisoft shut down The Crew’s servers on March 31, 2024, per the House of Commons Library briefing. Its EU arm, the “Stop Destroying Videogames” initiative, collected 1,448,270 signatures by the July 31, 2025 deadline, per PC Gamer’s report on the campaign’s final count.
National authorities verified 1,294,188 of those signatures. The initiative was submitted to the European Commission on January 26, 2026 as the 14th valid European Citizens’ Initiative, having reached minimum numbers in 24 of 27 member states, per the Commission’s ECI registry.
Signatures Collected vs Verified, Stop Destroying Videogames ECI, Jan 2026
Campaign volunteer Moritz Katzner shared the final count on the r/StopKillingGames subreddit in January 2026 and put the signature failure rate at around 10%, per PC Gamer. Germany supplied the largest verified national bloc at 233,180 signatures, ahead of France at 145,289 and Poland at 143,826, per Katzner’s country breakdown reported by Dexerto.
Top Verified National Blocs, Final ECI Count, January 2026
Source: European Citizens’ Initiative registry and campaign final count via Moritz Katzner, January 2026
What Did the EU Decide in June 2026?
The European Commission adopted its reply on June 16, 2026. It stated it cannot, at this stage, propose a legal obligation to keep games playable after they stop being provided commercially.
Instead, the Commission committed to start an exchange with the games industry and consumer representatives by the end of 2026, aimed at an industry code of conduct for managing games’ end of life. The reply landed ahead of its July 27, 2026 deadline.
Source: European Commission Communication on the Stop Destroying Videogames ECI, June 16, 2026
What Happened With the UK Petition?
The UK parliamentary petition closed on July 14, 2025 with 189,888 signatures, past the 100,000 needed for debate consideration, per the House of Commons Library. MPs debated it on November 3, 2025, recorded in Hansard.
The government’s written response of February 3, 2025 stated there are no plans to amend UK consumer law on disabling video games. That position framed the debate. Live-service closures of this kind sit close to the community-run infrastructure covered in these Discord gaming server statistics.
Source: House of Commons Library briefing CDP-2025-0195 and Hansard, November 3, 2025
GOG Preservation Program Statistics 2026
GOG launched its Preservation Program in November 2024, per TechPowerUp. Across 2024 and 2025 the program welcomed 267 games and delivered 1,461 preservation improvements, covering compatibility fixes, restored content, stability upgrades, and quality-of-life work, per GOG’s own two-year summary.
GOG’s senior business development manager told Time Extension in December 2024 that the plan was “at least 500 games” by the end of 2025. The published two-year total sits at 267, so readers can weigh the target against the outcome.
| GOG Preservation Program Checkpoint | Games in Program | Reported By |
|---|---|---|
| Before the March 2025 additions | 141 | GameGrin, March 2025 |
| After the late-October 2025 wave | 248 | TechPowerUp, October 2025 |
| Two-year total, 2024–2025 | 267 | GOG Pressroom, 2026 |
Source: GOG program counts as announced per wave; periods stated per row
Some entries returned from commercial absence. Dino Crisis 1 and 2 and Breath of Fire IV had been unavailable for years before joining, per GOG’s summary.
Community demand shapes the pipeline. In 2025 alone, 312 games joined the GOG catalog through the Dreamlist voting tool, which drew over 13 million votes and more than 57,000 user stories, per GOG.
GOG also joined EFGAMP, won a seat on its board, and received the Checkpoint Award 2025 for its preservation activities. The same compatibility work has a volunteer parallel in the custom-firmware scene tracked in this Nintendo Switch modding data page.
Source: GOG Pressroom two-year summary, published February 2026
Delisted Games Data 2026: The Abandonware Pipeline
Delisting is how titles start the slide toward abandonware. The community-run Delisted Games database documents 1,050 delisted Steam titles, 1,280 delisted PC titles from non-Steam storefronts and portals, and 157 delisted Nintendo Switch titles as of 2026, per its platform index pages.
Delisted Titles Documented by Platform, Delisted Games Database, 2026
These are documented removals on one tracking site, not a census of every delisting. The real total is higher than any single tracker records.
Source: Delisted Games platform indexes, accessed 2026
When Does the Nintendo Switch eShop Close in China?
Nintendo’s timeline, as reported by Delisted Games, disabled eShop purchases in China on March 31, 2026 and shuts the storefront fully on May 15, 2026, including redemptions, downloads, updates, and DLC. Registered Switch owners in China could claim up to 4 titles from a 13-game list between November 27 and March 31, 2026.
Cross-platform figures like these sit alongside the other datasets in the gaming statistics hub for readers comparing storefront trends.
Source: Delisted Games report on Nintendo’s China eShop closure timeline, closure date May 15, 2026
Game Preservation Statistics: The Bottom Line
The verified record for 2026 reads plainly. Legal access stays narrow after four US remote-access rejections since 2015, and 1,050 documented Steam delistings show the out-of-print pipeline running.
Consumer pressure produced a formal EU process, 1,294,188 verified signatures, and a Commission reply that offered a code-of-conduct track rather than law. Commercial preservation delivered 267 games and 1,461 fixes at GOG in two years, against a stated 500-game target.
FAQs
How many signatures did Stop Killing Games collect in the EU?
The Stop Destroying Videogames initiative collected 1,448,270 signatures by July 31, 2025. National authorities verified 1,294,188, and the initiative was submitted to the European Commission on January 26, 2026.
Where on Reddit was the final Stop Killing Games count announced?
Campaign volunteer Moritz Katzner posted the final verified count, 1,294,188 signatures, to the r/StopKillingGames subreddit in January 2026, alongside a country breakdown, per PC Gamer’s report on the Reddit announcement.
What signature failure rate did organizers confirm on Reddit?
Around 10%. In the r/StopKillingGames thread, Katzner put the initiative’s failure rate at roughly 10%, matching the gap between 1,448,270 collected and 1,294,188 verified signatures.
How many games are in the GOG Preservation Program?
267 games entered the GOG Preservation Program across 2024 and 2025, with 1,461 preservation improvements shipped, per GOG’s two-year summary. The original target was at least 500 games by the end of 2025.
Did the EU pass a law to stop games being shut down?
No. On June 16, 2026 the European Commission said it cannot propose a legal obligation to keep games playable, and committed instead to start work on an industry code of conduct by the end of 2026.
Sources
https://gamehistory.org/87percent/
https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/stop-destroying-videogames_en
https://www.gog.com/pressroom/making-games-live-forever-together/