Online Fiasco: A growing number of games are now forced to run online even when they support full-fledged single-player modes. Consequently, more single-player gamers are becoming dissatisfied with the way publishers do business these days. Ubisoft is one of the major offenders in this online-only mania, and consumers keep suing the corporation to get their games (or money) back.
French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir recently announced a new lawsuit against Ubisoft after the French publisher pulled The Crew's servers offline. This "unilateral decision" stripped consumers who purchased the game of their rights, the group said, as Ubisoft never mentioned the fact that the racing game had an expiration date.
Ubisoft released The Crew in 2014. It sold two million copies despite collecting mixed reviews from critics. Customers could either choose to play alone or in multiplayer, with both modes requiring an internet connection. The company ultimately shuttered The Crew's servers in 2024, rendering the game completely unplayable even in single-player mode.
UFC-Que Choisir said the publisher may have abused the contractual conditions related to every game's purchase, denying players ownership rights or any alternative way to keep the software running. Furthermore, Ubisoft did not offer any refunds to players after the game had essentially "expired." Ubisoft may have also used misleading business practices, running a marketing campaign that led players to believe they would have "unlimited" access to the game's online world.
UFC-Que Choisir is now suing Ubisoft because it wants to stop this kind of harmful practice, which could amount to substantial damage to consumers' general interests. The group said more games now require a permanent internet connection, which means publishers ultimately have the means to deactivate any game and thus damage players' ability to enjoy their purchases.
The French lawsuit is officially supported by Stop Killing Games (SKG), the consumer movement started by YouTuber Ross Scott in 2024. According to a recent SKG message, the new case has been building in the background for almost two years and is finally coming to fruition.
Scott and his group launched SKG as an answer to Ubisoft's decision to shut down The Crew. The initiative quickly grew in popularity, surpassing 1 million signatures in Europe and forcing the European Commission to take action.
Several government authorities, including the UK Parliament, have now held a debate about SKG and the issue of disappearing online games. A public hearing at the European Parliament is currently scheduled for April 16, 2026. Meanwhile, Ubisoft replied to SKG's proponents by stating that game "services" cannot go on forever. Maybe this is why I am still playing the Ghosts 'n Goblins arcade game in 2026, while I'm just barely interested in looking at any new Ubisoft production for the foreseeable future. I guess Ubisoft is well aware that it will reap what it has sown.