What this petition demands:

That the Entertainment Software Ratings Board add these points to their enforced advertising guidelines:

• If a video game is a live service (defined as: A software designed for continuous play and monetization through ongoing updates and content post installation of the product.), then there must be visual indication on the cover of the product packaging informing potential purchasers that the software is a live service product and include the same visual indication on the advertising media within any online storefront (screenshots, videos, and other media).
• Should a product be considered live service as previously described, then online storefronts must have purchasers acknowledge that the product is a live service product and may be discontinued at the publisher's discretion prior to the completion of the purchase.
• If a live service product is discontinued (defined as: the individual product producing less than a minimum of 1 hour's worth of content equal to the quality as advertised upon the product's release within the present calendar year.), then physical copies must be removed from physical storefronts and a disclaimer of discontinuation must be acknowledged by purchasers prior to the purchase of the product in online storefronts. 
• If a video game project utilizes artificial intelligence to develop level design, narrative writing, technical writing, sound design, music, 2D design, 3D design, and/or voice acting in leu of actual human participation (defined as: an employee hired to fulfill the objectives of the aforementioned roles.) and is under contract by a separate entity that intends to publish the product to physical and/or online storefronts and funded with the equivalent of $1,000,000 or over, then there must be visual indication on the cover of the product packaging informing potential purchasers that the software is an AI assisted product and include the same visual indication on the advertising media within any online storefront (screenshots, videos, and other media)

Recommend Imagery:

Why? 

The advancement of Artificial Intelligence and the continued support of Live Service is coming at the cost of game industry jobs and leaving gamers with empty wallets with nothing to show for it.

Consumers of this market and gamers in the gaming community need better protections. It's my hope that the additional product transparency at the literal front of the product itself will help consumers vote with their wallets and help influence the industry into making better creative decisions and to support job security in the long term hope to get better games.

In addition to that hope, it is also important to consider the need to inform parents and guardians of young gamers. To the non-gaming parent or guardian, there is very little distinction between a traditional one-time-purchase game and a live service game that is intentionally crafted to entice players to continually pay for content for an unknown amount of time. An amount of time that can come to an abrupt end at a developer's and/or publisher's discretion, voiding all the gains provided from potentially years' worth of continued monetary support from the purchaser. 

A video game purchased as a Christmas present suddenly turns into a monthly financial commitment to keep your kid happy. 

The ESRB was founded in the summer of 1994 and the board created the age appropriation rating system that we see across all our games today in September of that year. The ESRB, and their beyond the border equivalents, are in the best position to create these additional labels and their requirements. 

Which is why I'll be updating the ESRB, their equivalents, and storefronts (physical and digital wherever possible) of this petition. In fact, I've already reached out to them to make them aware of it.

However, they will not act simply because we ask nicely. We're fighting corporations that want you and the everyday parent to stay in the dark about what you're actually buying and how it was developed. Multi-million dollar corporations and their legions of lawyers. 

This petition needs your signature to give us the leverage we need to create positive change in this industry and this market to benefit parents, guardians, gamers, and the general consumer.