LogInAh, did you get comfy with "your" games already?
Ubisoft
Game companies have been trying to convince players that they don't own the games they buy for a while now, and Ubisoft is first in the line of defenders of this questionable decision. Last year, its director of subscriptions Philippe Tremblay said we should get comfortable with not actually having rights to games, and now it's taking a more formal step in this direction.
When Ubisoft shut down The Crew, fans were enraged, and YouTuber Ross Scott, also known as Accursed Farms, got fired up to file a class-action lawsuit against the company and started the Stop Killing Games campaign.
Then, two players, Matthew Cassell and Alan Liu, sued Ubisoft "on behalf of all others similarly situated." Now, the company has a response. Its attorney Steven A. Marenberg argued that it has always been clear that users didn't own The Crew and they shouldn't complain now.
He said the game stated that it required an internet connection and that Ubisoft had the right to revoke access "to one or more specific online features" with a 30-day notice (via GamesRadar+.) Ubisoft believes it was clear in indicating that users don't get "unfettered ownership rights" in the game, that "a reasonable modern video game consumer would fully understand they were purchasing a limited license to play The Crew. The packaging’s warnings that Ubisoft could 'CANCEL ACCESS' to the game and that the software is 'subject to license' dispelled readers of the idea that they were obtaining unfettered ownership."
"After making their purchases, Plaintiffs enjoyed access to The Crew for years before Ubisoft decided in late 2023 to retire shut down the servers of the ten-year-old video game," Marenberg said. "Plaintiffs received the benefit of their bargain and cannot complain now that they were deceived simply because Ubisoft did not then create an offline version of the discontinued video game."
The plaintiffs, on the other hand, noted that The Crew's activation code doesn't expire until 2099, which implies that the game would stay playable until then. Moreover, The Crew's currency could be considered a sale of a gift certificate, which are not allowed to expire under California law.
These are fine arguments, but only the judge will decide what's right. This whole lawsuit, however, is an important precedent, and it will show how companies denying ownership of games might end eventually. Are we moving toward a subscription-only future, or are things going to stay the same?
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