May 16. (Portaltic/EP) –
The completion of online services, whether computer programs or video games, usually confronts users and development studios, especially when a license has been acquired to use them, however, the UK Government has clarified that these companies “are not required to support older versions of their products.”
On some occasions, video game development companies end the online service for certain older titleswhether due to economic problems to continue maintaining them or to have their usage decreases among users. After removing support and shutting down servers, consumers no longer have access completely and therefore They can no longer enjoy the title, even if they have purchased it.
Although it is not the only case, it has recently happened with Ubisoft. This developer and publisher ceased the online service of some of its old video games, including the first installment of The Crew, which could only be played online. After ending sales in December 2023, it closed the servers of said title on March 31 of this year, and later removed the video game from the Ubisoft Connect libraries, as well as its use licenses, without prior notice.
This action caused discontent among the players, who They reproached the developer for the impossibility of continuing to play despite having purchased the video game. That is, the players argued that, at the time of purchase, they obtain “a perpetual license, not a subscription” and, therefore, they should be able to play whenever the user wants.
PETITION TO THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO STOP KILLING GAMES
As a consequence, the content creator Ross Scottknown for its Accursed Farms YouTube accountstarted a lawsuit against Ubisoft for the case of The Crew in January of this year, in order to stop this type of practices by video game developers.
The demand led to the creation of the Stop Killing Games platform (Stop killing games), promoted by Scott himself and, which last April began a petition on the UK Government website to require publishers to maintain the operation of video games that are sold as products.
Specifically, they ask that video games are maintained in “reasonable working order when support ends,” as well as that “no additional intervention is necessary for the game to work”, such as a consumer legal right.
The Government has spoken out on the matter, and has indicated that consumers “must be aware that there is no requirement in the law of the United Kingdom that force companies and software vendors to support older versions of your operating systemssoftware or connected products”.
This has been detailed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in response to the request from the Stop Killing Games platform, in which it has also clarified that There may be times when companies decide to make these types of decisions “due to the high costs of operation that involves maintaining older servers for video games that have declining user bases.
However, the UK Government’s response has also detailed that the Video game companies must submit to existing consumer laws and regulations, among which he has pointed out the Consumer Protection against Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPR).
These standards detail that it is not legal to make consumers think that “a game will remain playable indefinitely for certain systemsdespite the end of physical support” and, if this situation arises, users can “demand that the game remains technically feasible”, for example, by being available offline.
Despite this, the request of the Stop Killing Games campaign will continue to be in effect and collecting signatures until October 16, 2024 and, if it exceeds 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament. Currently, the petition has collected around 23,980 signatures.
Additionally, the organization will contact an attorney to investigate possible legal action, as stated by a representative of Stop Killing Games to GameIndustry.biz,
However, it must be taken into account that, as Ubisoft shows in its Terms of Use of Services pagethe company makes no “guarantee” that the services will be available uninterrupted. “We hereby reserve the right to suspend all or part of the services at any time,” says the developer.
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