After the discontinuation of “The Crew,” Ubisoft revokes the licenses of players who had paid for the game back then. This is presumably to prevent owners from reinstalling the game. Many players express their disappointment about this. However, “The Crew” has been unplayable since April 1, 2024.
Ubisoft’s purely online racing game The Crew has not been playable since April 1, 2024. Ubisoft shut down the servers. The game is no longer usable even with a disc, as there is no offline mode. However, dedicated fans had already announced their intention to host The Crew privately.
However, some users report that Ubisoft has gone a step further, and many are not pleased: According to reports from Engadget, the company is said to have accessed “Ubisoft Connect” accounts and revoked the license for accessing the game.
Discussion reignites whether we actually “own” games
What are the reactions like? Some players are already loudly complaining and calling this action theft. After all, they had paid for the game, and there was no warning or announcement that Ubisoft would simply delete the license. When they tried to start the game, they received a message that access was no longer possible.
Others recall an interview with Ubisoft. In this interview, the company explained that one should get used to the idea that one does not actually own games. This caused a lot of uproar. Many are now saying: Ubisoft is making it clear by removing the license from the players’ libraries.
Ubisoft states in its own terms of use:
1.3: You are granted a license for the services and content; they are not sold to you. We grant you a personal, limited, non-transferable, and revocable right and the corresponding license to use the services and access the content for your entertainment and non-commercial use, provided that you comply with these terms.
Terms of Use for Ubisoft Services via legal.ubi.com
However, players’ criticism is hard to ignore. Players have long complained when purchased titles are only available online and cannot even start without a permanent online connection or activation.
This is a discussion that is also being raised again with Ubisoft’s new Star Wars game. For even here, Ubisoft had explicitly said beforehand to the players’ displeasure: You need an internet connection if you want to install the new game:
Star Wars Outlaws causes trouble before release: Needs internet connection for installation
