Lawsuit against Ubisoft’s shutdown of The Crew has an update

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For nearly half a decade now, Ubisoft has faced a legal battle over its decision to turn off the servers for their 2014 release, The Crew, raising issues about game ownership.

The potential class action lawsuit against Ubisoft has an update

Over the past year, gamers have grown more mindful of the price tags on their digital game purchases, while video game publishers persistently advocate for digital versions over physical ones. For instance, Nintendo has taken this route with their latest offerings. The upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 and Mario Kart World bundle offers only a digital version of the new racing game. Those who prefer a physical copy must buy it separately, effectively spending an additional $30 since the game retails for $80 individually but merely brings the $450 price of the Switch 2 to $500 in the bundle. This move towards digital games helps developers save on manufacturing costs for physical copies and gives them the option to cease paying for server maintenance at any time.

The problem with Ubisoft originated in 2023, when they announced that The Crew’s servers would be deactivated. Since it’s an “always online” game, this essentially meant that anyone who bought the game since 2014 was no longer able to play. This led several people to file a class action lawsuit, contending that Ubisoft didn’t have the authority to limit access to a game they had purchased. However, Ubisoft has countered these allegations, maintaining that players shouldn’t expect unlimited ownership rights in the game.

Today, Polygon noticed a development in this case. It appears the plaintiffs submitted photos of The Crew‘s box packaging to the court, revealing that the game’s activation code doesn’t expire until the year 2099, suggesting how long the game was intended to be accessible. The plaintiffs also made an intriguing claim, arguing that The Crew‘s in-game currency could be likened to a gift card, which by law should not expire. This argument contends that Ubisoft discontinuing the servers effectively invalidated these “gift cards.” Ubisoft has until April 29th to respond.

In the past few months, Steam has been emphasizing that when users buy games, they’re actually purchasing a license, not the games themselves directly. This is due to a California law enacted in 2024 which mandates transparency about such transactions for consumers. Meanwhile, the PlayStation Network suffered an almost 24-hour downtime in February, causing some users to lose access to their games during the weekend. The shift towards digital gaming seems to be meeting resistance from the public, but digital game sales are thriving while physical ones are declining. We’ll have to see how a potential class action lawsuit against Ubisoft unfolds.

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2025-04-10 00:32