Ubisoft Sued Over The Crew: Claims Buyers Don't Own Games

Ubisoft has made it clear that purchasing a game does not grant players "unfettered ownership rights" to it, but rather a "limited license to access the game." This statement was part of their defense in a legal battle initiated by two players of The Crew, who sued the company after it shut down the original racing game in 2023.

The original The Crew, released in 2014, is no longer playable. All versions of the game, whether physical or digital, have been rendered inaccessible, with the servers going offline permanently at the end of March 2024. While Ubisoft took steps to create offline versions of The Crew 2 and its sequel The Crew: Motorfest, allowing players to continue playing, no such measures were implemented for the original game.

At the end of last year, the two gamers filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft, claiming they were under the impression that they were "paying to own and possess the video game The Crew instead of paying for a limited license to use The Crew." They likened the situation to buying a pinball machine only to find it stripped of essential components years later.

As reported by Polygon, the plaintiffs accused Ubisoft of violating California’s False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, as well as common law fraud and breach of warranty claims. They also argued that Ubisoft contravened California's state law regarding gift cards, which are not allowed to expire. The gamers presented images showing the activation code for The Crew with an expiration date of 2099, suggesting that the game should remain playable until then and beyond.

In response, Ubisoft's legal team argued that the plaintiffs believed they were purchasing "unfettered access to the game in perpetuity," and were upset that Ubisoft did not offer an offline, single-player option when the servers were shut down. Ubisoft maintained that consumers were fully aware they were purchasing a license, not ownership, and that this was clearly communicated at the time of purchase. They pointed out that the Xbox and PlayStation packaging included a prominent notice in all capital letters stating that Ubisoft may cancel access to online features with 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.

It's worth noting that digital marketplaces like Steam now include explicit warnings to customers that they are purchasing a license, not a game. This change followed a law signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, requiring digital marketplaces to clarify the nature of the purchase. While this law does not prevent companies from removing access to content, it mandates transparency about the licensing nature of the purchase before the transaction is completed.