Source: Ubisoft
2024 is clearly a rough year for game company Ubisoft.
After several controversies surrounding Assassin’s Creed Shadows which led to a delay and a cancellation of early access, Ubisoft has once again found itself in hot water with a lawsuit on their plate, this time in regards to their game The Crew.
For those not in the know, Ubisoft’s The Crew was an online-only racing video game released in 2014. It isn't a particularly celebrated game, having picked up mixed reviews due to its online-only gameplay, plethora of microtransactions, and technical issues. However, it has built up a dedicated player base over the years since its launch.
However, The Crew was delisted by Ubisoft from digital storefronts in December 2023, and ultimately shut down for good in March 2024, with Ubisoft citing “upcoming server infrastructure and licensing constraints” as its reason for doing so. This unprecedented move earned the ire of many gamers, which only worsened when Ubisoft began revoking the licences of players who owned the game without offering any refunds or alternative method to download game files in April 2024.
Two gamers from California are now suing Ubisoft for fraud after The Crew’s shutdown.
The controversy regarding The Crew’s shut down has led to 2 The Crew fans to file a fraud lawsuit against Ubisoft last November 4, as first reported by Polygon. The lawsuit claims that the “complete destruction of the game” barred consumers’ access to the product they paid money for, and that Ubisoft has “duped” them in two ways: by misleading consumers in telling them they were buying a game instead of renting a limited licence, as well as Ubisoft “falsely” representing the game by selling physical disks.
The lawsuit also claims that Ubisoft wronged The Crew’s player base by not providing an offline mode in single-player, which the company had provided for The Crew’s sequel and Motorfest. The lawsuit states:
Imagine you buy a pinball machine, and years later, you enter your den to go play it, only to discover that all the paddles are missing, the pinball and bumpers are gone, and the monitor that proudly displayed your unassailable high score is removed. Turns out the pinball machine manufacturer decided to come into your home, gut the insides of the pinball machine, and remove your ability to play the game that you bought and thought you owned. Even though you paid full price to receive this game, you never knew that the manufacturer could come in one day, and, without your control, leave you with the skeleton of what you thought you paid for.
The Ubisoft fraud lawsuit further provides information regarding the backlash received by Ubisoft in regards to shutting down the servers, including the “Stop Killing Games” movement by YouTube creator Ross Scott back in January. The movement, which started with filing complaints with France’s General Directorate of Competition, Consumption & Repression of Frauds, would later on escalate to become an active ballot within the European Citizen’s Initiative, requiring 1 million signatures for the European Union to consider passing relevant legislation. The petition currently has over 379,000 signatures.
The backlash also inspired California Assembly member Jacqui Irwin to author a bill which requires companies to tell consumers they’re buying licences and not the games themselves in online store fronts. Governor Gavin Newson signed the bill back in September, and it will be fully implemented as law come 2025.
The two plaintiffs are now hoping that the courts will approve the lawsuit as a class action, which means that any affected party during this fiasco could join in to sue Ubisoft. They are also asking for monetary relief and damages for players impacted by the server shutdown. Ubisoft has declined to give any statement regarding this matter, as further reported by Polygon.
