Two players of the online-only racing game The Crew are suing Ubisoft, the game's developer and publisher, over its shuttering of the game's servers, which effectively removed all access to the title. The Crew, released in 2014, was an online exclusive with no single-player campaign available for players without an internet connection. Shutting down the servers in December 2023 left owners of the game without the ability to utilize their purchased copies of the game.
Ubisoft's decision to dismantle servers for an always-online game highlights a growing source of contention for purchasers of digital media, namely that digital downloads are licensed rather than purchased. When older games are delisted, or live-service games have their server support discontinued, the reality of the purchasing arrangement becomes painfully clear to customers. The new California bill AB 2426, signed into law in October 2024 and going into effect in early 2025, mandates that this discrepancy is presented to consumers with greater transparency.
Ubisoft's open world arcade racer 'The Crew' made a strong impact with its cinematic trailer, but here our thoughts after playing it in person at E3 2013.
As originally reported by Polygon, the two players filing suit...
