It’s game over for fans of discontinued video games after the European Union (EU) admitted defeat on Tuesday and said it cannot stop publishers from making them unplayable.

But the EU unlocked one potential cheat code by promising voluntary guidelines to manage video games’ “end of life”.

The EU was responding to a citizens’ petition backed by over a million people from across Europe called ‘Stop Destroying Videogames’, asking Brussels to make sure that older games which still have many fans remain available.

For over a decade, hundreds of online video games have been rendered unplayable at the whim of their publishers, for either technical or economic reasons.

Gamers asked the EU to introduce rules that would force publishers to keep the discontinued games active, for example, by allowing them to remain accessible on private servers set up by volunteers.

But the EU executive said “at this stage it cannot propose a legal obligation to keep video games playable after they stop being provided commercially” due to existing intellectual property rights and copyright law.

Rights holders have exclusive rights over their creations, Brussels said.

Instead, the EU will draw up a code of conduct with input from the industry and consumer representatives, and will work with consumer groups to ensure gamers’ rights are respected, including any compensation they may be entitled to.

The organisers of the petition told AFP they were not giving up, and hoped to get the European Parliament to override the commission’s decision.

“Our current plan is, with the help of parliament, get the Digital Fairness Act amended to include the issue of prohibiting publishers from deliberately disabling customer purchases,” they said.

“The objectives behind the DFA make our issue an ideal fit for it, since it addresses similar issues of digital rights and lack of clarity from existing laws.”

Some 40 lawmakers in the parliament from different political groups last week voiced backing for the petition’s goal, in a letter to the commission.

Gamers are also pursuing their goal through the courts.

In France, the UFC-Que Choisir consumer group is suing French game company Ubisoft for halting its racing title The Crew, claiming unfair trading practices and “abusive” clauses in the terms of use.