- Ubisoft has been sued by an association for shutting down the servers of The Crew in 2024, which rendered the game unplayable.
- Legal action has been taken to question the authority of publishers over titles they can close down at their discretion.
- Furthermore, Ubisoft was deceptive and infringed on fundamental consumer rights by not disclosing this expiry date before purchase.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that, over the last few years, Ubisoft has lost much of the goodwill it built with players thanks to its questionable decision-making. From promising continued layoffs to defending nepotism within the company, the French publisher has only itself to blame for new lows in stock price.
Recently, Ubisoft laid off over 100 people at the Tom Clancy Studio, effectively shutting down the legendary developer. Now, as it turns out, the company is being sued for closing the servers of a racing simulator.
Why it matters: Ubisoft’s anti-consumer practices have put them in a tough spot, and once again, the company has no one else to blame but itself.
French consumer association Que Choisir is suing Ubisoft for shutting down the servers of The Crew, an online racing title that was taken offline by the company back in March 2024.
As per the press release, Ubisoft’s decision to close the game’s servers rendered The Crew unplayable and inaccessible to anyone who had bought the title. Furthermore, the publisher had not informed players of the expiration date before the purchase was made.
Hence, Que Choisir intends to get an important ruling from the Créteil Judicial Court regarding the ownership of video games by consumers independent of the publisher’s authority. The association believes Ubisoft violated fundamental consumer rights by revoking the ability to play the title without disclosing its expiry before purchase.
Hence, the company’s tactics were deceptive, and Que Choisir wants to put an end to practices like these that disrupt the players’ right to access a game after purchasing it.
This lawsuit is supported by the Stop Killing Games movement and attempts to tackle the worrying trend of publishers having authority over video game ownership by requiring constant internet connectivity.
Do you think Ubisoft is in the wrong here? Should consumers be able to play the games they buy anytime they want? Tell us in the comments below or head to the Tech4Gamers forum for discussion.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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