Ubisoft Sued Over The Crew: Players Don't Own Purchased Games

Ubisoft has firmly stated that purchasing a game does not grant players "unfettered ownership rights" to it, but rather a "limited license to access the game."

These comments surfaced as Ubisoft moved to dismiss a lawsuit initiated by two dissatisfied The Crew players who sued the company over the shutdown of its original racing game last year.

The 2014 release, The Crew, is no longer accessible. No version of the game, be it physical or digital, can be purchased or played, as the servers were completely shut down at the end of March 2024.

While Ubisoft made efforts to develop offline versions of The Crew 2 and its sequel, The Crew: Motorfest, allowing players to continue enjoying these games, no such provision was extended to the original game.

The initial lawsuit vividly illustrated the situation: "Imagine you buy a pinball machine, and years later, you enter your den to play it, only to find the paddles, pinball, bumpers, and the monitor displaying your high score are all gone."

As highlighted by Polygon, the plaintiffs accused Ubisoft of breaching California's False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, along with charges of "common law fraud and breach of warranty." They also argued that Ubisoft violated California's state law regarding gift cards, which prohibits expiration dates.

The gamers presented evidence, including images of the activation code for the game, which indicated no expiration until 2099, suggesting to them that "The Crew would remain playable during this time and long after."

Unsurprisingly, Ubisoft contested these claims.

"Plaintiffs allege they bought physical copies of The Crew under the belief they were gaining perpetual, unrestricted access to the game. They also express discontent that Ubisoft did not offer an 'offline, single-player option,' or 'patch,' when it shut down The Crew's servers in March 2024," Ubisoft's legal team stated.

"The core of the plaintiffs' complaint is that Ubisoft allegedly misled buyers of The Crew into thinking they were purchasing unrestricted ownership rights, rather than a limited license. However, consumers received what they were promised and were clearly informed at purchase that they were acquiring a license."

The response also pointed out that the Xbox and PlayStation packaging features a "clear and conspicuous notice — in all capital letters — that Ubisoft may cancel access to one or more specific online features upon 30 days' prior notice."

Ubisoft has filed a motion to dismiss the case. Should the motion fail and the lawsuit proceed, the plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial.

Platforms like Steam now explicitly warn customers that they are purchasing a license, not a game. This change followed California Governor Gavin Newsom signing a law requiring digital marketplaces to clarify to customers that they are buying a license to media, not the media itself.

It's important to note that while the new law mandates transparency, it does not prevent companies from withdrawing access to content, but at least they must inform customers of the nature of their purchase before they buy.