Ubisoft Sued Over The Crew: Game Ownership Disputed

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

This statement came to light as the company attempted to dismiss a lawsuit filed by two dissatisfied The Crew players. These players sued Ubisoft after the company discontinued the original racing game in the previous year.

Released in 2014, The Crew is no longer accessible. As of the end of March 2024, all servers for the game were shut down, rendering every version of the game—whether physical, digital, or previously owned—unplayable.

While Ubisoft developed offline versions for The Crew 2 and The Crew: Motorfest, allowing continued play, no such option was provided for the original game.

At the close of last year, two gamers initiated legal action against Ubisoft, asserting that they believed they were "purchasing ownership and possession of the video game The Crew," rather than merely paying for "a limited license to use The Crew."

The lawsuit vividly described the situation: "Imagine you buy a pinball machine, and years later, you enter your den to go play it, only to discover that the paddles are missing, the pinball and bumpers are gone, and the monitor that displayed your high score is removed."

According to Polygon, the claimants accused Ubisoft of violating California's False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, along with allegations of "common law fraud and breach of warranty." They also argued that Ubisoft contravened California's state law on gift cards, which prohibits expiration dates.

The gamers presented evidence showing that the activation code for The Crew explicitly stated it would not expire until 2099, leading them to believe "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 indefinitely. They also express dissatisfaction with Ubisoft's decision not to provide an 'offline, single-player option of the Game,' known as a 'patch,' when it shut down The Crew's servers in March 2024," Ubisoft's lawyers stated.

"The core of the plaintiffs' complaint is that Ubisoft allegedly misled purchasers into thinking they were buying unfettered ownership rights, rather than a limited license. However, consumers received the benefit they were promised and were clearly informed at the time of purchase that they were acquiring a license."

Ubisoft's response further noted that the Xbox and PlayStation packaging included a prominent notice—in all capital letters—stating that Ubisoft might cancel access to specific 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.

Platforms like Steam have begun to explicitly warn 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 that customers are buying licenses to media, not the media itself.

It's important to note that while this new law mandates transparency about the nature of digital purchases, it does not prevent companies from discontinuing access to content.