Ubisoft Now In Legal Crosshairs Following Its Decision To Pull Support For The Crew

The current state of Ubisoft is put into question as of late. While the publisher is still working on a wealth of new projects, the firm has been noted to be on a rough spree of releases. This includes the likes of Skull & Bones, Star Wars: Outlaws, and the recent delay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows reflecting that. However, the firm could be in new ownership it appears.

According to reports online, the conversation of a buyout or acquisition for the publisher has also been tossed around these past few weeks. So the concept for any other discourse to be thrown Ubisoft’s way could be even more detrimental if the discourse continues to grow. It appears one of Ubisoft’s decisions from earlier this year is now showing some consequences.

It is revealed that after the decision to shut down 2014’s The Crew, the State of California has filed a lawsuit against Ubisoft for “impliedly warranted that purchasers of the physical version were obtaining ownership rights over the copy of the Game they purchased, when in fact, they were merely paying for a limited license to use the Game,” the filing via Polygon reads.

“Ubisoft misled consumers by telling them they were buying a game, when in fact, all they were renting was a limited license to access a game,” the document reveals. “This deception was compounded by the fact that many gamers, like the Plaintiffs, bought physical discs storing the game data, which reasonably made them believe that they could input that disc into their computer or game console whenever they wanted.”

The lawsuit adds: “This decision resulted in Defendants’ complete destruction of the Game which totally barred consumers’ access to the product they paid money for. To further rub salt on the wound, Defendants decided that they would not provide consumers with the basic courtesy of leaving intact the single-player version of the Game so that the thousands of consumers who paid hard earned money for The Crew could at least enjoy some  portion of this beloved Game offline.”

The document does indicate that Ubisoft goes against California law only containing a remote license for the game rather than contents to play The Crew offline. “Ubisoft intended consumers to rely on their representation and omissions in making their purchasing decisions. Through their conduct, Ubisoft have violated California state consumer protection laws.”

Are you surprised by this new development for Ubisoft?

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