Ubisoft Sued By The Crew Players Over Server Shutdown

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Ubisoft Sued By The Crew Players Over Server Shutdown

Key Takeaways

  • Two players are suing Ubisoft after the company shuttered servers for the online-only game The Crew.
  • The lawsuit claims that Ubisoft misled customers about game ownership, violating California consumer protection laws.
  • Many companies continue to remove access to legacy titles, angering players and causing concern over game preservation.

As a gamer with decades of gaming experiences under my belt, I’ve seen it all – from the golden age of arcades to the current digital era. The latest turn of events surrounding Ubisoft and The Crew is a stark reminder of the ever-evolving nature of our beloved industry.

Two enthusiasts of the online-exclusive racing game The Crew, developed and published by Ubisoft, are filing a lawsuit due to Ubisoft’s decision to discontinue the game’s servers. This move essentially eliminated access to the title for all players. Launched in 2014, The Crew did not offer an offline single-player mode, necessitating an internet connection for play. The shutdown of the servers, scheduled for December 2023, rendered the games bought by consumers unusable.

Ubisoft’s choice to shut down servers for an online-only game underscores a developing issue for digital media buyers: they are renting, not owning, their downloaded content. When older games get taken off the market or live-service games stop receiving server support, consumers find out the hard way about the nature of their purchase. The recently passed California bill AB 2426, effective from early 2025, requires companies to make this distinction clearer to customers at the time of sale.

According to Polygon’s initial report, the two plaintiffs argue that the termination of access diminishes the worth of the game they bought, and it would have affected their decision to pay the full price for the title in the beginning. The lawsuit compares Ubisoft’s action of restricting access to “The Crew” single-player campaign to a situation where a pinball machine manufacturer enters your home, strips the internal components, and takes away your ability to play the game you thought you owned. Although the shutdown of the server has angered devoted players, Ubisoft is not alone in discontinuing access to older games.

Delisting Older Titles Continues to Anger Players

The lawsuit alleges that Ubisoft misled players into thinking they were purchasing a game instead of a revokable license for it, suggesting they were deceived. Additionally, it claims Ubisoft promised parts of the game would be accessible offline forever, which turned out to not be true. The suit argues that these practices breach California’s consumer protection laws. This legal action comes in response to public outrage over Ubisoft closing the servers for The Crew, resulting in Ubisoft offering offline versions of future games from the series and sparking the “Stop Killing Games” campaign led by YouTube creator Ross Scott.

With digital transactions rapidly overtaking physical purchases for games and other media, it’s clear that discussions about ownership, durability, and preservation are bound to grow. It’s possible we’ll see more lawsuits on these topics until publishers and digital retailers find solutions that players find acceptable. Lately, Ubisoft has faced player criticism following the delay of ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’, the potential closure of the free-to-play shooter ‘XDefiant’, and the launch of a blockchain-focused RPG.

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2024-11-12 19:44