Ubisoft Faces Fraud Lawsuit Over The Crew’s Closure

Two gamers from California are taking legal action against Ubisoft with a class action lawsuit following the recent closure of servers for the racing game, The Crew. Initially launched in December 2014, The Crew saw its servers shut down after ten years, reportedly due to “server infrastructure and licensing constraints.” Once these servers were offline, the game was rendered completely unplayable as it lacked any offline, single-player mode. Although Ubisoft did offer refunds for recent purchasers when the shutdown was announced on December 14, 2023, many players who bought the game earlier were left out in the cold, unable to benefit from the offer.

The lawsuit, filed on November 4 in a California court and examined by Polygon, paints a vivid picture with an analogy: imagine buying a pinball machine, only to return years later to find it gutted of its vital components like paddles and bumpers, and its display screen, with your top scores, vanished. The lawyers claim this scenario mirrors what happened when Ubisoft ceased The Crew’s servers in 2024, effectively stripping gamers of access to what they thought they owned.

At the heart of the legal action is the accusation that Ubisoft misled consumers, leading them to believe they were purchasing a game when in fact, they were only buying a license. This applied even to those who acquired physical copies. Additionally, the plaintiffs claim Ubisoft misrepresented that the game’s data was on the physical discs, whereas these discs, it turns out, merely served as keys to the game. The lawsuit contends that this practice violates California’s consumer protection laws.

The two gamers engaged in the lawsuit had bought physical copies of The Crew during its lifetime, in 2018 and 2020. They allege that they wouldn’t have made the purchase, or would have reconsidered its terms, had they known the servers could be shut down, rendering the game unplayable. The lawsuit also highlights the dissatisfaction with Ubisoft for not offering an offline mode after the server shutdown, contrasting with other games like Knockout City and some of Ubisoft’s titles such as Assassin’s Creed 2 and 3, which introduced offline options post-server closure. Although Ubisoft has promised offline modes for future titles in The Crew series, like The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest, the suit argues that this doesn’t address the current issues brought by The Crew’s shutdown.

The plaintiffs aim for their lawsuit to gain class action status, potentially bringing more players who’ve been affected on board in seeking financial compensation and damages. This legal move aligns with a broader campaign led by YouTuber Ross Scott, encouraging the industry to “stop killing games.” This movement, initiated after The Crew’s server closure, has gathered steam and is pushing the European Union to ensure games remain playable, amassing over 379,000 signatures so far.

As entertainment media increasingly shifts into the digital realm, the distinction between owning and licensing games is becoming a hot-button issue. Some enthusiasts, taking preservation into their own hands with efforts like The Crew Unlimited, highlight the overarching responsibility for game companies to maintain access to their titles. In a bid for transparency, California has even passed new legislation requiring companies to state when consumers are purchasing licenses instead of the games themselves. Introduced by California assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin and inspired partly by Ubisoft’s closure of The Crew, this law aims to clarify purchasing conditions, though it doesn’t prevent publishers from making a game unplayable when they decide to discontinue service.

Ubisoft chose not to provide a comment on the matter.

[Update: The story has been adjusted to include Ubisoft’s decision to not comment.]