Ubisoft Legal Team Asserts Players Never Owned The Crew Rights

Lawyers for the French publishing powerhouse Ubisoft have asserted that there’s no basis for players to assume ownership of a game just because they’ve purchased it.

In a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit in California, brought by gamers, Ubisoft’s legal team emphasized that some consumers were upset over the company’s choice to discontinue The Crew. This game, which was turned off in 2024 after a decade, is now unplayable because it needed an online connection to function.

In their motion to dismiss, as detailed by Polygon, Ubisoft’s attorneys stated, “Displeased with Ubisoft’s move to retire the game post a notification period mentioned on the product’s box, the Plaintiffs are pursuing a broad strategy on behalf of a proposed group of nationwide consumers. They’re asserting eight different claims, including violations of California’s False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, as well as allegations of common law fraud and breach of warranty.”

Recently, the plaintiffs have revised their complaint. They now argue that Ubisoft might have violated state law, which mandates that gift cards remain valid indefinitely, since players had unused currency in The Crew when it was shut down. This claim hinges on their ability to convince the court that in-game currency should be treated like gift cards.