Full title: Ubisoft says you "cannot complain" it shut down The Crew because you never actually owned it, and you weren't "deceived" by the lack of an offline version "to access a decade-old, discontinued video game"

Ubisoft's lawyers have responded to a class action lawsuit over the shutdown of The Crew, arguing that it was always clear that you didn't own the game and calling for a dismissal of the case outright.

The class action was filed in November 2024, and Ubisoft's response came in February 2025, though it's only come to the public's attention now courtesy of Polygon. The full response from Ubisoft attorney Steven A. Marenberg picks apart the claims of plaintiffs Matthew Cassell and Alan Liu piece by piece, but the most common refrain is that The Crew's box made clear both that the game required an internet connection and that Ubisoft retained the right to revoke access "to one or more specific online features" with a 30-day notice at its own discretion.

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[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 90 points 5 days ago (9 children)

Let's see if the physical disc once said anything about needing an online connection for single play. Oh look, it did not, the subscription required was only for 2-8 players network play.

Let's compare with Destiny 2's back cover, a game that is a MMO and thus "cannot be owned" by the players. Hey, a "Online Play (Required)*" sticker that is not present on The Crew! The fine print has a bit that states that "Activision makes no guarantee of regarding availability of online play or features, and may modify or discontinue online services at its discretion without notice."

FF14 also had a "Online Play (Required)*" sticker on its back cover. It clearly states on the rectangular bit above the T Rating: "Users are granted only a limited, revocable license and do not own any intellectual property in the game or game data"

You deceived consumers, Ubisoft. "Online Play Required" is not there, so the game should remain playable offline.

[–] uis@lemm.ee 12 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

You deceived consumers, Ubisoft.

~~Ubisoft is being fucked on consumer protection grounds, not on false advertisement. It doesn't matter what they said on box, they broke the law.~~

EDIT: fuck, this is USSA lawsuit. I thought it was French(and EU in general) one.

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