Ubisoft removed The Crew from digital storefronts in 2023 and shut down the servers a year later due to “infrastructure and licensing constraints.” This news proved so controversial that it sparked the popular “Stop Killing Games” movement, as well as smaller-scale lawsuits, such as one filed by two players in 2024, which alleged that Ubisoft was “duping” consumers.
These accusations were immediately refuted, as Ubisoft claimed that consumers weren't actually buying a game when they bought Crew, but a license to play the game. The trial is still ongoing, but little progress has been made. But France's leading consumer organization has now filed its own lawsuit in the Créteil court against Ubisoft over the closure of The Crew, increasing pressure on the French publishing giant.
As reported by Reuters, UFC-Que Choisir (via machine translation) claims that it is “unacceptable that Ubisoft considers, in its terms and conditions, that players only acquire a 'license' to use the game, which could then be revoked at any time by the publisher.” The group noted that “players were never fairly informed of the potentially temporary nature of access to the game they purchased,” and that closing the game — and revoking “licenses” — “violated basic consumer rights.”
The Crew is far from the only game to be removed and taken offline
Stop Killing Games, which promises that “publishers shouldn't be able to destroy what you've already paid for” and that “when you buy a copy of a game you get to keep it”, received over 1.2 million verified signatures earlier this year, making the initiative eligible for discussion at the European Commission; last week, meetings were held in Brussels with members of parliament, as the movement finally reached the European Parliament. Unsurprisingly, given that it was The Crew that ignited the Stop Killing Games in the first place, the movement has thrown its support behind UFC-Que Choisir's lawsuit.
The EU is expected to present its findings on the Stop Killing Games movement at the end of July, and SKG Director General Moritz Katzner told Reuters that the EU Parliament plans to hold a hearing on April 16, where the movement will show support “to encourage the industry to engage with us on a constructive solution.” While UFC-Que Choisir's lawsuit aims to address The Crew, and how Ubisoft allegedly “misled consumers,” there are countless other games that are no longer playable, as SKG points out.
SKG has an extensive list of “dead” and “at risk” games, covering everything from Anthem and Angry Birds Lite to Battlefield 1943 and even the online multiplayer components of classic Assassin's Creed games, showing how widespread the issue of game preservation is in the industry and how many games have locked out their players without paying them back.
- Released
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December 2, 2014
- ESRB
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T For teens due to language, mild gore, mild suggestive themes, violence
- Developer
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Ubisoft Ivory Tower, Ubisoft Reflections
- Engine
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Babel engine
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
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The crew
