Last December, Ubisoft announced that it would remove the MMO racing game The Crew from all digital stores. Servers will be shut down on March 31, 2024. Weeks after the scheduled server shutdown, Ubisoft began notifying players who owned copies of The Crew: Deleted from Ubisoft account.
Ubisoft is not the first company to shut down servers for online-only games, but the recent shutdown of The Crew's online servers has led to individuals seeking legal and government intervention to address the growing industry trend. appeared.This is because Microsoft Arkane Studio Closing, developer of Redfall. With this decision, Future updates and planned DLC cancellations For this online only game.
Although Redfall's servers are still up and running, it's unclear how long Microsoft will keep them up and whether it will offer an offline mode after it eventually ends support for Redfall, so its long term Support remains uncertain.
Aside from the obvious fact that it means players who spent money on this game will feel cheated, there's a lot of stake in the hundreds of people who poured their creative energy into bringing this game to market in the first place. I have money. Shutting down or delisting a game will be more than a superficial decision. That would strip away the creative work of the thousands, perhaps millions, of people who played or developed it.
Join the stop killing game.
Stop Killing Games, an initiative founded by YouTuber Ross Scott, aims to end the common practice of making games, especially MMOs and other online-only games, that are designed to be “completely unplayable” after support ends. The aim is to hold publishers accountable. The initiative itself is another juncture in the larger fight to preserve video games for future generations.
Scott's strategy is simple. to make a public complaint. A lot of them. After Ubisoft shut down The Crew's servers, Scott encouraged those who were upset and angry to: File a complaint with the French Directorate General Ubisoft is headquartered in France and therefore contributes to the Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF).
“Given the scale of the game and France's strong consumer protection laws, this is one of the best opportunities to hold publishers accountable for this behavior,” Scott wrote. Official website of Stop Killing Games. “If we are successful in bringing charges against Ubisoft, it will have a ripple effect on the video game industry and prevent the publisher from destroying even more games.”
If you really think about it…if the vehicular movement continues in The Crew series, the biggest police force will be called to shut down the game.
“Well, we're going to finish this game, but your car will finish and be imported into the next game, so who cares?” pic.twitter.com/ckojJW8kGt
— Sidhwaji (@WajSid) December 18, 2023
The Crew is scheduled to close next year and will be gone forever as it is online only. It seems like there was a gap of about 2 years. This is still one of the largest open world driving games ever made. What a great business model to throw all that effort in the trash. https://t.co/FzPrN9mM2t
— Accursed Farms (@accursedfarms) December 14, 2023
In a statement sent to IGN, a Ubisoft spokesperson told IGN that the company has “no further comment” regarding the closure of The Crew. The spokesperson reiterated that while the news may be disappointing for players, it was “necessary” for Ubisoft due to server infrastructure and “licensing constraints.”
The painful limits of online games
Scott's effort is an attempt to address a trend that has been going on for years, but has become more severe in recent years.
Newzoo senior market analyst Michael Wagner said it has been common in the past for games to lose online support after a certain period of time, usually as “the player base moves on to other titles.” Still, the game remains playable with additional features such as a single-player campaign, local multiplayer, and the option to set up a private server. But in recent years, Wagner explains, the idea that online games are completely unplayable has become a “fairly new phenomenon.”
According to Wagner, publishers are shutting down games because of declining player bases and the need to increase the profitability of maintenance costs as new titles are released in existing franchises, such as: It is said to include “Battlefield'' and “Call of Duty.'' Wagner explains how older games can threaten a newer game's ability to make a profit. “Players can continue playing old games, but they can't play new games within the game. In theory, removing the feature would mean more revenue for new titles.”
Liam Dean, principal analyst at Omdia, agreed, noting that “almost all online-only games have a limited lifespan.” There are some rare exceptions, most notably Blizzard Entertainment's World of Warcraft. Dean reiterated Wagner's comments that the main reason publishers shut down their servers is that the player base will decline after a few years.
“Up until about the mid-2000s, it was common for online games for players to host private servers,” Dean explained. “But these days, the cost of maintaining a game server is typically borne by the publisher, a cost that at some point they want to stop paying once the game's player base drops below a certain level. ”
The worrying trend of online-only games will continue for some time, with the rise of live service games and in-game purchases becoming a major source of revenue. According to Dean's research, he explains that 54% of his revenue “across the industry” comes from microtransactions or in-game purchases. That percentage is “obviously even higher” in live service games, as they typically have a plethora of microtransactions and in-game items for players to purchase.
As the player base dries up, so does the revenue, and with it the chances of the game surviving.
Nevertheless, the gaming industry is one that is increasingly focused on multiplayer games, especially live service titles such as Fortnite, Palworld, and Helldivers 2. Not only do these projects rely on a player base that keeps coming back to play their games, but they also need to make this content accessible to players online. When we close, we take the community with us. Friday the 13th is just one of the games exposed to this fate, with servers set to be permanently shut down on December 31, 2024.
Scott said licensing agreements prevent companies from selling additional games once a license expires, but “it doesn't prevent existing buyers from continuing to use the games they've already paid for.” No,” he explains.
However, ownership of some games remains a gray area, particularly in the United States, where legal precedents have significantly stripped consumers of their rights. The most important cases affecting this are: ProCD, Inc. vs. Seidenberger, amended U.S. contract law to allow courts to suspend end-user license agreements. Essentially, the lawsuit argues that these agreements absolve publishers of any liability and obligation they have to consumers who purchase their products, and allow them to assert control over when online-only games will no longer be playable after support ends. I meant it.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has been leading the fight for ownership since 1990, primarily focused on defending the digital rights of creators, technologists, and technology users. Cory Doctorow, EFF Special Adviser, emphasized: “If you bought a game, if you created a game, if you love a game, technology shouldn't prevent that game from continuing. Instead, technology should save that game.” Now this game For the players who love it, for the people who take pride in making this game, for the players who will come after, and for the game makers of the future. ”
But the challenges are broader than the United States. In countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom, there is little precedent preventing companies from canceling purchases after they have been sold. In contrast, the EU and Australia need support to obtain a government inquiry into this issue. One global challenge is the influence of lobbying groups, especially in the gaming industry, which can work to maintain the status quo of an imbalanced power balance between gaming companies and consumers.
domino effect
Nevertheless, this proposed domino effect of filing complaints with the DGCCRF would still have a global impact, despite the varying degrees of laws affecting consumer rights around the world. Scott explains. For example, when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sued Valve in 2014 for failing to offer customers the option to refund games on Steam, the company also announced that other countries such as Australia and the United States would not be able to offer refunds on Steam. We had to change our policy to allow it. state.
Ultimately, Scott and Doctorow encourage individuals to advocate for the changes they desire. They encourage fans to file complaints and force governments to investigate the company's actions and practices. Meanwhile, Scott's efforts are gaining momentum in raising awareness and encouraging players to protect their rights and counter this frustrating trend dictated by publishers.
“I think that by taking customer money, publishers have an obligation to give customers a reasonable expectation that the game will run in some way even after support ends,” Scott says.
Taylor is a reporter for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
