Ubisoft says you “cannot complain” it shut down The Crew because you never actually owned it, and you weren’t “deceived” by the lack of an offline version “to access a decade-old, discontinued video game”

Ubisoft‘s legal representatives have responded to a class action lawsuit concerning the closure of The Crew, asserting that it was always clear that players did not own the game and calling for the suit to be dismissed entirely.

The class action was initiated in November 2024, with Ubisoft’s reply submitted in February 2025, although it has only recently gained public attention, thanks to Polygon. In the detailed response from Ubisoft attorney Steven A. Marenberg, he dissects the allegations made by plaintiffs Matthew Cassell and Alan Liu meticulously, but the essential argument is that the nature of The Crew required an internet connection and that Ubisoft retained the authority to revoke access “to one or more specific online features” with a 30-day notice at its discretion.

“After purchasing the game, the Plaintiffs had access to The Crew for years before Ubisoft opted to shut down the servers of the decade-old game in late 2023,” Marenberg claims. “The Plaintiffs received the intended service and cannot now argue that they were misled simply because Ubisoft did not subsequently create an offline version of the discontinued game.”

Polygon’s report highlights that the plaintiffs submitted an amended complaint on March 18, asserting that an activation code included with the retail version of the game, which does not expire until 2099, implied that the entire package would remain playable until that time. It also contends that The Crew’s currency could be viewed as the sale of a gift certificate, which is typically not allowed to expire under California law, where the suit was filed.

Which side of the debate holds validity will ultimately be determined by a judge, and if Ubisoft has its way, the case may be dismissed before it actually reaches trial. Marenberg concludes that the “plaintiffs’ dissatisfaction with their inability to access a decade-old, discontinued game does not constitute adequate grounds to file a proposed class action complaint.”

It is important to explicitly note that this case is separate from the ongoing Stop Killing Games campaign, a broader consumer rights initiative inspired by The Crew’s termination. This movement is seeking to enact legislation that would require publishers to introduce updates or alternative solutions for online-only games, so that end-users may continue to enjoy them after they are no longer supported, either through offline modes or support for custom servers. The campaign has encouraged Ubisoft to introduce offline modes to The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest, but not to the now-defunct original game that started this controversy in the first place.

Publishers are completely petrified that “preserved video games might be used for recreational purposes,” hence the US copyright office has rejected a significant effort for game preservation.

Dustin Bailey became part of the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022 and is currently based in Missouri. He has been covering video games (with occasional ventures into anime and professional wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer and then as a news author at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His passion for gaming was ignited somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting