In 2014, Ubisoft launched an arcade racing game titled The Crew, which was anticipated to rival the Need for Speed franchise. While the game did cultivate a respectable fan base, in 2023, Ubisoft announced plans to shut down the project, offering refunds exclusively to players who had made recent purchases. The most frustrating aspect for gamers was that Ubisoft not only terminated the racing simulator’s servers and disabled multiplayer features but also removed access to download the game client for single-player mode. This decision led to significant discontent among players, prompting them to initiate a class action lawsuit against the publisher, feeling misled in the process.
“Imagine that you bought an arcade machine to play pinball, and a few years later you come into your room and discover that all the ‘stuff’ is gone, the ball is gone, and the monitor that used to display your epic high score has been taken away. It turns out that the manufacturer decided to just come to your home, disassemble the machine, and deprive you of the opportunity to play the game that you bought and thought was your property,” is a quote from the plaintiff’s lawyers’ statement.
In 2024, a California lawsuit emerged against Ubisoft, alleging that the company abruptly shut down the servers for the video game The Crew, thereby denying consumers access to what they believed was their purchased digital property. The lawsuit claims that players were misled on two counts. Firstly, the plaintiffs argue that Ubisoft created the impression that consumers were buying the game outright, when in reality, they were merely licensing it, even if they had acquired a physical disc. Secondly, Ubisoft asserted that the files on the physical discs were essential for accessing The Crew, rather than serving merely as a “key” to the game, which the lawsuit contends was misleading.
The plaintiffs assert that this conduct violates the California Consumer Protection Act. Additionally, gamers stated that had they been aware that the game’s servers could be deactivated, rendering The Crew unplayable even in offline mode, they would not have purchased the racing simulator from Ubisoft. As a result, fans are seeking damages and hope to expand their class action lawsuit with additional claimants. Ubisoft has chosen not to comment on the matter.
