Ubisoft is Facing a Class-Action Lawsuit for Shutting Down The Crew

As a long-time fan of The Crew, I must say I find Ubisoft’s decision to shut down the servers and render the game unplayable quite disheartening. I remember spending countless hours cruising across the USA, exploring its virtual highways and byways, and now it feels like all that time was for naught.

Back in March 2024, Ubisoft took down the servers for The Crew video game, which hasn’t gone over too well with its fan base. Though players could understand why the multiplayer part was discontinued, they were disappointed that they could no longer play the single-player mode as well. Now, these fans have taken legal action against the company, claiming they were not offered an offline gameplay option.

According to a report from Polygon, the legal document shows that Matthew Cassel and Alan Liu are leading a class-action lawsuit against Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. and Ubisoft, Inc., on behalf of themselves and all others in a similar situation, due to the closure of The Crew game.

The plaintiffs claim that Ubisoft deceived them in multiple aspects. Specifically, they allege that Ubisoft gave customers the impression they were purchasing a full game, whereas what they actually obtained was a temporary license to play the game.

In addition to their claims, the plaintiffs assert that Ubisoft failed to disclose crucial details about The Crew’s packaging and promotion. Specifically, they argue that Ubisoft neglected to inform customers that the servers for The Crew could potentially be turned off at any time, without offering a minimum of an offline mode for consumers to keep playing the game they purchased.

Additionally, they opted for buying actual CDs under the assumption that “the game’s code was stored on physical discs that users could purchase or digitally download files for payment.” However, it was revealed that the game itself resided on a remote server, with the purchased CD functioning as a key to access this server.

The buyers argued that when they bought copies of The Crew’s physical discs, they assumed the game could be played forever without worry of it being deactivated. They also provided instances where Ubisoft had previously shut down online servers for games such as Assassin’s Creed 2 and Assassin’s Creed 3, but eventually rectified the situation by introducing an offline play mode.

Despite facing criticism from the community, Ubisoft confirmed that offline modes from games like The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest will continue to exist. Unfortunately, the original The Crew did not make it onto this preserved list.

In this case, the individuals bringing the lawsuit (plaintiffs) have requested that the case be decided by a jury. Additionally, they’ve mentioned that the total claims from all members involved in the proposed class exceed $5,000,000 without considering interest or additional costs. This indicates that it’s a class-action suit with significant financial implications.

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