Ubisoft‘s decision to shut down The Crew has resulted in the French publisher becoming embroiled in a lawsuit, and the company has now hit back by stating players who purchased the online-based title – even if it was a physical copy – shouldn’t have expected to own it forever.
The Crew was removed from digital storefronts back in December 2023, after which Ubisoft confirmed that it would no longer be playable as of April 2024 following nearly a decade of support. This didn’t sit well with two players, who decided to take legal action against the Assassin’s Creed creator by accusing it of violating California consumer protection laws.
Related Content — Upcoming PS5 Games 2025: The Best PS5 Games Coming Soon
They argued that Ubisoft was misleading players “by telling them they were buying a game, when in fact, all they were renting was a limited license to access a game that Defendants choose to maintain at their own noblesse oblige.”
However, Ubisoft is now claiming that The Crew owners should not expect full ownership of the game indefinitely, even if it was purchased on disc. A statement from the publisher’s lawyer reads as follows:
Frustrated with Ubisoft’s recent decision to retire the game following a notice period delineated on the product’s packaging, Plaintiffs apply a kitchen sink approach on behalf of a putative class of nationwide customers, alleging eight causes of action including violations of California’s False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, as well as common law fraud and breach of warranty claims.
Ubisoft has attempted to quell user backlash by announcing that The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest would be receiving offline modes.
The Crew was developed by Ivory Tower and Ubisoft Reflections, and was released for PS4, PC, and Xbox One in 2014. The game’s biggest draw was its persistent open-world setting, allowing players to travel across a scaled-down recreation of the Untied States, spit into five regions: The Midwest, East Coast, The South, Mountain States, and West Coast. It took players 45 minutes in real-time to drive from coast to coast in-game.