France's leading consumer association, UFC-Que Choisir, has filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft over the 2024 shutdown of the online racing game The Crew. The action alleges that Ubisoft misled consumers about the permanence of their purchases and imposed abusive clauses stripping players of ownership rights. The Stop Killing Games movement has backed the lawsuit.
UFC-Que Choisir announced the lawsuit on Tuesday, as first reported by Reuters. The case targets the shutdown of The Crew, which occurred two years ago and drew widespread criticism for highlighting issues in game preservation, particularly for always-online titles. Players and advocates responded with modding efforts and prior legal actions against Ubisoft, prompting the publisher to add offline modes to The Crew 2 and Motorfest ahead of their server closures. The lawsuit claims Ubisoft deceived buyers on the lasting nature of their purchase and enforced unfair terms that removed ownership rights from players. Backers, including the Stop Killing Games initiative, argue this fight could influence protections for gamers worldwide. Moritz Katzner, general director of Stop Killing Games, stated that the group expects the EU Parliament to hold a hearing on related matters on April 16. While server maintenance costs challenge publishers for underpopulated games, advocates push for designs ensuring single-player or structured gameplay survives official support.