Two California gamers sued Ubisoft last November after the company killed servers for the racing game The Crew. They compared it to someone buying a pinball machine, only for the maker to break into their home later and remove every playable part, leaving just an empty shell.
The players argued that Ubisoft tricked them, saying they were buying a game when really they only rented temporary access. One player even purchased a physical disc that became useless plastic once the servers went offline.
After players complained, Ubisoft added offline modes to newer games, The Crew 2 and Motorfest. But they never fixed the original game, which died completely in March 2024.
Ubisoft responded to the lawsuit. They told the upset players they should have known they were just buying a license, not the actual game. The company also claimed the players had already enjoyed The Crew for years before its shutdown was announced in December 2023.
The players changed some parts of their complaint after Ubisoft responded. They insisted they had no reason to think the servers would ever close. Around the same time as this lawsuit began, Steam started warning customers clearly that they only buy licenses for games, not the games themselves.
The players argued that Ubisoft tricked them, saying they were buying a game when really they only rented temporary access. One player even purchased a physical disc that became useless plastic once the servers went offline.
After players complained, Ubisoft added offline modes to newer games, The Crew 2 and Motorfest. But they never fixed the original game, which died completely in March 2024.
Ubisoft responded to the lawsuit. They told the upset players they should have known they were just buying a license, not the actual game. The company also claimed the players had already enjoyed The Crew for years before its shutdown was announced in December 2023.
The players changed some parts of their complaint after Ubisoft responded. They insisted they had no reason to think the servers would ever close. Around the same time as this lawsuit began, Steam started warning customers clearly that they only buy licenses for games, not the games themselves.
