It is possible that a video game in your library suddenly becomes inaccessible if its publisher decides to do so. This practice, as fans of The Crew, a racing game developed by Ubisoftis perfectly legal.
In December, the French video game giant announced the upcoming end of The Crew, a title released in 2014 allowing players to participate in online car races. Ubisoft complied on April 1 by closing the servers, permanently cutting off access to its game. It now appears in a tab called “ idle games » ; it is neither possible to open nor download it, to the great dismay of its approximately 12 million players.
Players do not own the game
If fans of The Crew denounce Ubisoft’s practices, these are indeed legal and defined in the conditions of use of video games. When purchasing, the player does not acquire ownership of the game itself, but rather the license to use it. Thus, the publisher is completely free to “ perform updates, patches, content additions, or even remove the game from the market, at its discretion », details at 20 minutes Maître Antoine Cheron, associate lawyer at ACBM, specializing in intellectual property law.
Low profitability, new version in preparation, copyright… Several reasons can push a studio to delete a game. From a legal point of view, players have no rights to the works, even if they have purchased them .
“ We understand that this may be disappointing for players who are still enjoying the game, but it has become a necessity due to upcoming server infrastructure and licensing constraints. Decommissioning a game, and especially our first game, is not something we take lightly », Explains Ubisoft in a press release shared in December.
A bad sign for the future?
Several players have stepped up to the plate, including the posting online of a petition called Stop Killing Games. The latter aims to put pressure on Ubisoft for the return of The Crew. “ Due to the scale of the game and the importance of consumer protection laws in France, this represents one of the best opportunities yet to hold a publisher accountable for its actions », Estimate its authors. However, it is unlikely that their action will bear fruit.
On social networks, many gamers miss the days when there were only physical games, without any Internet connection being necessary. Others see the decision as a grim sign for the future of gaming.
Source : 20 minutes
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