Ubisoft Sued Over The Crew: Ownership Rights in Question

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

These statements were made in response to a lawsuit filed by two dissatisfied players of The Crew, who challenged Ubisoft's decision to shut down the original racing game in 2023.

As of 2014, The Crew is no longer playable. All versions of the game, whether physical or digital, and regardless of prior ownership, became inaccessible when servers were completely shut down at the end of March 2024.

While Ubisoft took steps to develop offline versions of The Crew 2 and its sequel, The Crew: Motorfest, allowing continued play, no such efforts were made for the original game.

The lawsuit likened the situation to buying a pinball machine, only to find it stripped of essential components years later, rendering it unplayable.

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

The gamers presented evidence showing 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 thereafter."

Ubisoft, however, disputes these claims.

"Plaintiffs allege that they purchased physical copies of The Crew under the belief that they were obtaining unfettered access to the game in perpetuity. They also object to Ubisoft's failure to provide an 'offline, single-player option of the Game, otherwise known as a '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 purchasers of its video game The Crew into believing they were purchasing unfettered ownership rights in the game, rather than a limited license to access the game. However, consumers received the benefit of their bargain and were explicitly notified, at the time of purchase, that they were purchasing a license."

Ubisoft's response also highlighted that the Xbox and PlayStation packaging included a "clear and conspicuous notice — in all capital letters — that Ubisoft may cancel access to one or more specific online features upon a 30-day prior notice."

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

Notably, digital marketplaces like Steam now feature explicit warnings to customers that they are purchasing a license, not a game. This change followed a law signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, mandating digital marketplaces to clarify that customers are buying a license to media, not the media itself.

It's important to recognize that while this new law requires transparency about the nature of the purchase, it does not prevent companies from withdrawing access to content.