Ubisoft Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over The Crew Shutdown
Ubisoft has been facing tough times recently, and a new controversy involving The Crew has added to the challenges. Some players are now suing the company, raising questions about game ownership and digital licenses.
The Crew, part of Ubisoft’s racing game franchise, became the center of debate after its servers were shut down in December 2023. By April 2024, players could no longer access the game they had purchased.
In response, two gamers from California have now filed a class action lawsuit against Ubisoft, claiming the company’s actions were unfair. While Ubisoft offered refunds to players who had recently purchased The Crew, many long-time owners were left without options. This led to the decision to bring the matter to court.
The lawsuit, filed on November 4 in California, uses a comparison to describe Ubisoft’s actions. They compared the situation to buying a pinball machine that comes with all its components, only for the manufacturer to later remove the paddles and bumpers, making it unusable.
Additionally, the lawsuit accuses Ubisoft of misleading players on two fronts. First, it claims that players were led to believe they were purchasing the game outright, but they were actually obtaining a limited license, even for physical copies. The packaging reinforced this misunderstanding by suggesting that the game could still be played offline after online support ended, which was not the case.
Second, it alleges that physical discs and downloaded files were falsely represented as containing the full game, while in reality, they functioned merely as access keys to a remote server. According to the lawsuit, these practices violated California consumer protection laws.
- Related Reading: New California Law Forces Digital Stores to Admit You’re Just Licensing Content, Not Owning It
The two players are seeking to have the lawsuit approved as a class action, which would allow other affected players to join in seeking compensation. The case touches on broader concerns within the industry about digital delivery and ownership rights.
In September, a related development saw Valve update its store to inform gamers that they don’t own games bought on Steam but only hold a license to use them.
It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit against Ubisoft unfolds, as it could mark another key moment in the ongoing discussion about digital delivery.
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