Stop Killing Games, a petition that was launched to end what its creators say is the unfair practice of publishers “destroying” video games that they had sold to customers, is nearing 180K signatures, according to a website for the initiative that continues to call on gamers from various regions around the world, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and, more recently, all of the EU, into signing it as part of a goal to urge authorities into examining such behavior. The Crew, an online-only racer that Ubisoft released in 2014, is one of the key titles that sparked the initiative, with the publisher having shut down the game’s servers and rendering it unplayable in March 2024.
Stop Killing Games on The Crew’s role in the petition:
- “The videogame The Crew, published by Ubisoft, was recently destroyed for all players and had a playerbase of at least 12 million people.”
- “Due to the game’s size and France’s strong consumer protection laws, this represents one of the best opportunities to hold a publisher accountable for this action.”
- “If we are successful in charges being pressed against Ubisoft, this can have a ripple effect on the videogames industry to prevent publishers from destroying more games.”
- “It is our goal to have authorities examine this behavior and hopefully end it, as it is an assault on both consumer rights and preservation of media.”
As for what the petition makers mean by games being “destroyed”:
- “An increasing number of videogames are designed to rely on a server the publisher controls in order for the game to function. This acts as a lifeline to the game.”
- “When the publisher decides to turn this off, it is essentially cutting off life support to the game, making it completely inoperable to all customers.”
- “Companies that do this often intentionally prevent people from ‘repairing’ the game also by withholding vital components.”
- “When this happens, the game is ‘destroyed’, as no one can ever operate it again.”
A launch trailer for Ubisoft’s abandoned racer:
Ubisoft’s update from December 2023:
Today, The Crew 1, including all its editions, and virtual currency packs, will be delisted from all online stores. The game will remain playable until March 31st, 2024, for all The Crew 1 owners. After this date, the servers will be shut down, which means that the game will not be accessible anymore on any platform, including PC / Xbox 360 / Xbox One / PlayStation 4 / Amazon Luna and Ubisoft+.
We understand this may be disappointing for players 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 one, is not something we take lightly. Our goal remains to provide the best action driving gameplay experience for players and to deliver on it, we are continuing to provide new content and support for The Crew 2 and the recently launched The Crew Motorfest.