Ubisoft is currently dealing with a proposed class action lawsuit concerning its decision to shut down The Crew earlier this year, a decade after its initial release. Two players filed the lawsuit in the California Court, alleging that Ubisoft misled consumers into purchasing The Crew without informing them that the game's servers could be shut down, rendering the online game unplayable. When the shutdown was announced in December last year, Ubisoft offered refunds to players, but only to those who had recently purchased the game. Due to the game's age, many players were unable to receive their refunds.
The plaintiffs' lawyers used a vivid analogy in the lawsuit, comparing the situation to buying a pinball machine only to find it dismantled years later. They argued that Ubisoft had essentially entered players' homes and removed the ability to play the game they had purchased and believed they owned. The lawsuit claims that players were misled in two ways: firstly, by being led to believe they were buying a game when they were actually licensing it, even if they purchased a physical disk. Secondly, Ubisoft allegedly misrepresented that The Crew's files were on the physical disks, implying that they could be accessed freely, when in fact the disks were merely a key to the game.
The lawsuit further alleges that Ubisoft is violating California consumer protection laws. This case highlights a broader issue in the gaming industry where consumers often do not realize they are purchasing a license rather than the game itself. Platforms like Steam are attempting to make this distinction clearer when selling digital games. Ubisoft cited server infrastructure and licensing constraints as the reasons for shutting down The Crew's servers after a decade. Both The Crew 2, released in 2018, and the latest entry in the franchise, The Crew Motorfest, will remain unaffected by the server shutdown.
Source link: https://www.gamespot.com
