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Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Ubisoft's response to a lawsuit over a recently shut-down online game argues that paying customers never truly owned the title. The case has sparked renewed calls for legislation to protect players when games reach end-of-life status.
Two California plaintiffs filed suit against Ubisoft last year after the company shut down servers for The Crew, citing licensing restrictions. Publishers often delist driving games like The Crew and Forza Horizon when licensing agreements with car manufacturers expire.
Users typically retain access to games they purchased prior to delisting, and physical discs often continue to function. However, The Crew is an online-only title, and once Ubisoft deactivated its servers, launching the game merely starts a restricted demo version. Additionally, Ubisoft removed the game from customers' Ubisoft Connect libraries, offering refunds only to those who purchased it recently.
The California plaintiffs, who bought physical copies of the 2014 title years ago, allege that Ubisoft misled customers. They also point to other games that received offline modes when they reached end-of-life as a fairer precedent.
In response, Ubisoft argued that The Crew's packaging clearly states that purchase only grants a temporary license, and that the statute of limitations for the claim has passed. Still, the company has pledged to introduce offline modes for The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest.
The plaintiffs then pivoted to argue that The Crew's in-game currency qualifies as a gift certificate under California law, which prohibits expiration. They also pointed to the game's packaging, which states that activation codes remain valid until 2099, implying that the game should remain downloadable until then. Additionally, the plaintiffs contended that the statute of limitations only began in 2023, when Ubisoft announced its plans to shut down the servers.
In response to Ubisoft's decision, a petition urged the Canadian government to introduce protections for online games. The petitioners are calling for legislation that would require game companies to remove server dependencies and override End User License Agreements. The Stop Killing Games Initiative is directing similar demands at multiple governments.
As digital purchases and live-service games become more prevalent, the issue remains far from resolved. Ubisoft, while promoting its subscription service, has previously suggested that consumers should get used to not owning their games.
Valve has acknowledged the legal pressure by updating Steam's language to clarify that customers are not purchasing permanent ownership of games, in accordance with California law. In contrast, GOG mocked Valve's notice by emphasizing its policy of offering DRM-free offline installers for all titles.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Mojibake Tengu on Sunday April 13, @05:20PM (5 children)
It's just software. You can do it. Everyone can. You have a computer. Code your own game and you will own it.
Give it to friends for fame and glory. Give it to enemies for their envy.
Dudes, it's quarter of 21st century now, everything is already known and documented.
Rust programming language offends both my Intelligence and my Spirit.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Sunday April 13, @06:23PM (1 child)
This is quite true. It's easier than ever now to put together a simple game with things like Python.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 4, Insightful) by aafcac on Sunday April 13, @10:28PM
There's been game making software for complete amateurs for quite a few years. The games aren't necessarily sophisticated in terms of graphics, but can be rather deep if you care to put in the work.
I think the big issue here is that there's a server involved and that they couldn't bother to set aside money to either release the server or patch in a single player game. This is one of the reasons why I refused to buy DIII as there was no reason to force multiplayer other than as DRM.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday April 14, @03:45AM
Or go for one of the many open-source offerings out there. A lot of them are quite fun.
"Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday April 14, @06:52PM
I've tried my hand at this a time or five. It's insanely easy to make something very basic. The likes of which would have taken a lot of time and talent to do back in the early days. However, there are a lot of already great games out there. Unless you have a unique story / game or a very good implementation, you're not likely to make it very far.
Then again, there's things like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_(2024_video_game) [wikipedia.org]
The entire point of which is to waste your time clicking a Banana. Well, the entire point is to get lucky, like with slot machines. In other words, gambling. Except in this instance, you're not likely to translate any of the winnings to actual cash; assuming you're abiding by Steam TOS.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Mykl on Tuesday April 15, @12:11AM