The Crew lawsuit probably won’t save its offline PS4 platinum trophy

A pair of players have hit publisher Ubisoft with a The Crew lawsuit, but the specifics mean it's unlikely the game's trophies will return as a result.

Jamie Sharp

Published 13 Nov 2024

Ubisoft made The Crew trophies completely unobtainable when it delisted the game across all storefronts in early 2024. This caused quite an uproar among fans, and while two have now slapped the publisher with a The Crew lawsuit, it probably won't take this game off our list of unobtainable PS4 platinum trophies.

The Crew lawsuit against Ubisoft seeks compensation over dead PS4 game

The Crew's 51 trophies became unobtainable when its servers were shut down on March 31, 2024
Ubisoft's stance on the case is that players only purchased a license for The Crew, meaning it could revoke that at any time
PS4 release date: December 2, 2014

Two fans have taken it upon themselves to sue Ubisoft (via Polygon) over The Crew's delisting from the PS Store and other digital storefronts. This comes after the game, which was initially released on PS4, had its servers shut down and was made unplayable for all owners as of Sunday, March 31, 2024.

According to Polygon, the lawsuit alleges "the players were duped" by being misleadingly sold the game as a product when they were being sold a license — something we've heard many fans of The Crew argue over the years.

The pair behind the lawsuit purchased physical copies of The Crew and say they would never have if they'd known it could and would be shut down a decade later. The plaintiffs are reportedly looking for "monetary relief and damages for those impacted by the server shutdown."

It's with this outcome in mind where many of us fans of the PS4 game are likely to get overlooked, as it means even if the lawsuit is successful, we're probably not going to get that PS4 platinum trophy back online anytime soon.

Best-case scenario is that this at least sticks it to Ubisoft and prevents them from pulling this same move again with another game sometime. In fairness, that's a far more noble end goal that many video game fans want to emerge from any successful pushback against Ubisoft and publishers like them. Games preservation is a real issue and at this point legislation is what we need to keep games from being made unplayable after a few years.

In the months since the publisher has confirmed The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest will receive patches to make them playable offline when their servers meet the same fate. This is a step in the right direction, as are laws like one applicable in California that forces companies to inform consumers they're only buying a license and not a full copy of a game. A license that can be revoked whenever a company chooses.

For most of my life, the games I've purchased have been physical discs I can play two or three decades after their release. Once a game has launched, it's a part of history and should be playable or accessible in some way through preservation efforts. Even just as a customer, I'm in the camp that thinks a product should work beyond the manufacturer's lifespan, provided you look after it.

It's good that we'll still be able to play some of the best PS5 racing games for years to come with the new patches for the latest Crew games, but it doesn't help our situation with The Crew 1 and its platinum. I don't think it makes sense that Ubisoft can't make The Crew playable offline in a world where they're able to release these patches. Let us know what you think in the comments.

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Written by Jamie Sharp

Staff Writer Jamie has been playing PlayStation for over 25 years and a games journalist since 2019. He writes about upcoming PS5 games like Monster Hunter Wilds and ongoing shooters like Helldivers II. Jamie’s favorites include Metal Gear Solid and Horizon, horror like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, and indies with unique mechanics that make you appreciate the art form!