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Star Wars Outlawsis an upcoming title that is being developed, and it is also being marketed as the first-ever open-worldStar Warsgame. Massive Entertainment is developing the game.Ubisoft is publishing it.
Soon after the controversy regarding thegame’s microtransactions, which saw fans express dissatisfaction with the company, another news story left fans livid. This time, the company has gone on to do something even more questionable.
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The Crewwas a title released by Ivory Tower and published by Ubisoft. It was also the first installment in the racing game series, which now has three titles. Being an always-online title, the game received a lot of criticism, but it came with a map that was massive, being a scaled-down version of the United States map.
“A lot of work has gone into producing this classic original trilogy look and feel”: Contrary to the Controversy Around it, Star Wars Outlaws Could be What Fans Want and Need
The company also gave the game away for free during an event celebrating its 30th anniversary, Ubi30. Then, suddenly, the studio decided to snatch players’ licenses with the title and shut down its servers.
Since it was an always-online title, the game was unplayable for users and sparked widespread outrage by players against the company’s decision. The game is not available for sale on any marketplaces, and people are reacting to it on social media, too.
And yep, my license indeed got revoked on Ubisoft Connect.@UbisoftSupportpic.twitter.com/W41xtB7ANO
Another gamer on X stated how there could have been alternative measures instead of stripping away licenses:
Wow,@Ubisoftactually had the audacity to revoke my The Crew license. They shut the servers down and this made the game unplayable, yes, but this doesn’t make it right and custom servers could have been made.pic.twitter.com/iNGEcs0CZA
Unsurprisingly, the servers were shut down, and the game was decommissioned when it was over eight years old. However, there is also another dimension to this decision. Despite being constantly online, the game also had a single-player campaign, which should be available to players.
Ubisoft’s Stance on Digital Ownership Goes Deeper Than The Crew
The studio has beencrystal clear about its stance on digital ownershipsince it announced its subscription service. While decommissioning a game and shutting down its servers after ten years may be acceptable, the studio’s decision goes deeper than that.
Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws Draws Inspiration From All of George Lucas’ Space Opera Films, but 1 Worrying Inclusion Could Spell Disaster
Firstly, this implies that any company can justify its actions using corporate jargon, decommission any game at any given time, and even revoke licenses as per its will. Secondly, if a digital purchase doesn’t mean that the consumer owns the product, is it even a ‘purchase‘ in the first place?
Also, with subscriptions being the new thing in the market, purchasing a title individually means gamers can pick and choose products on which they spend their hard-earned money. But apparently, that means nothing nowadays, as companies have the right to deem a purchase null.
The only way consumers can make themselves heard in this scenario is by voting with their wallets so that game studios and companies know how dissatisfied the community is. What is your take on this license revoked by the studio? We would love to know your thoughts in the comments below.
Sparsh Jaimini
Gaming Writer
Articles Published :518
Sparsh Jaimini Sharma is a video games enthusiast and a Games Writer. A true white-blooded Madridsta. He is often seen grinding away at EAFC 24’s Ultimate team and learning to code when he is not writing. A Batman fan and Arkham Games connoisseur. He is the quintessential DC aficionado.
