Players Never Truly Owned The Crew, Assert Ubisoft Lawyers

Ubisoft’s legal team made a strong statement recently, arguing there’s no foundation for players to believe they own a game outright after purchasing it. This came up in the context of a class action lawsuit filed by gamers in California. The suit was in response to Ubisoft’s decision to pull the plug on “The Crew,” a game that became defunct after its servers were taken offline in 2024, a decade after its debut. Since this game relied on a constant internet connection, players essentially lost access to it completely.

Ubisoft’s legal representatives, as cited by Polygon, explained their perspective in the motion to dismiss the lawsuit. They mentioned that players were upset because Ubisoft decided to retire the game, a decision hinted at on the product’s packaging long ago. These players are now pursuing legal action under a variety of claims, including the violation of California’s False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, along with common law fraud and breach of warranty.

In response, the plaintiffs tweaked their complaint. They now argue that state law, which mandates gift cards remain valid indefinitely, might have been violated because they still had unspent in-game currency when “The Crew” ceased operations. However, this argument hinges on their ability to prove that such a law should apply to in-game currency.