HomeNewsThe Crew
Image credit:Ubisoft
Image credit:Ubisoft
“Consumers should be aware that there is no requirement in UK law compelling software companies and providers to support older versions of their operating systems, software or connected products. There may be occasions where companies make commercial decisions based on the high running costs of maintaining older servers for video games that have declining user bases,” saysthe government’s response. “However, video games sellers must comply with existing consumer law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs).”
The Crew’s servers were shut down for good earlier this year, and since it had no offline mode, this rendered the game unplayable even in singleplayer. The closure prompted YouTuber Ross Scott tostart a campaign called Stop Killing Games. The campaign encourages players to raise the issue of forced video game obsolescence with governments and regulators - thus prompting this petition.
The response provides contact numbers and websites consumers should use if they feel there has been a breach of the regulations.
No video game is explicitly advertised as something which will “remain playable indefinitely”. The concept is faintly absurd, given the expense and effort in maintaining software. Likewise, I think you’d struggle to find a reasonable person who expects an online game to remain playable online forever, given the assumed operation costs of servers and the many precedents for online games shutting down.
Do I think the solution to this is government regulation? No, not really. I think it sucks that The Crew was closed down, but I also think it’s unreasonable to expect games to be maintained indefinitely, and I can’t claim to know anything about the needs of The Crew’s server infrastructure. I think a better option than government petitions is probablypetitioning GOG.com, where The Crew currently has just 36 upvotes.
The UK government petition will remain open until October 16th, and if it reaches 100,000 signatures it will be considered for debate in parliament.
