A major French consumer advocacy group has filed legal action against Ubisoft over the shutdown of The Crew. UFC-Que Choisir alleges the publisher engaged in misleading commercial practices and imposed unfair contract terms when it ended the racing game’s service.
The watchdog’s core complaint centers on access. Players purchased The Crew as a product, but Ubisoft’s shutdown rendered the game completely unplayable. According to UFC-Que Choisir, the company’s terms of service allowed it to revoke all access without providing any alternative way to play.
The legal action targets specific clauses in Ubisoft’s contracts. The watchdog argues these terms improperly deny consumers property rights over games they purchased and give Ubisoft unilateral power to pull the plug without guaranteeing an offline mode or other workaround.
UFC-Que Choisir isn’t just seeking compensation. The organization wants Ubisoft’s allegedly problematic practices stopped, the contested clauses removed from future contracts, and recognition that the shutdown harmed the collective interest of consumers.
The Crew launched in 2014 as an online racing game that required constant server connection. When Ubisoft shut down the servers in March 2024, the game became a dead product. Players who paid full price were stuck with nothing.
Many modern games sold as purchases actually function more like rentals because they depend entirely on publisher-controlled servers. When those servers go dark, so does the game.
The pile-on continues
The French lawsuit joins other legal challenges targeting The Crew‘s shutdown. A separate California false advertising case has already reached a settlement pending final approval. U.S. buyers of The Crew stand to receive around $7 each under that agreement.
The French action carries potentially broader implications. If UFC-Que Choisir succeeds, Ubisoft could be forced to rewrite how it presents and operates live-service games in Europe. Other publishers watching similar “always-online” models might need to rethink their approach.
