Ubisoft has officially altered its End User License Agreement (EULA), updating the terms with new requirements that have raised concerns among gamers. This revision follows a series of controversies for the publisher, including the sentencing of three former executives associated with the company. The focus of these changes appears to revolve around how Ubisoft’s customers engage with its game library.
While players express enthusiasm for upcoming remakes like Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, these updates to the EULA may affect all future releases. The enhanced stipulations for license holders indicate a shift towards more stringent regulations, coinciding with increased scrutiny regarding physical ownership of games and the rising popularity of the “Stop Killing Games” movement.
The latest EULA mandates that users must uninstall and destroy all copies of a game once it is retired from online play. Although it remains unclear how such a requirement could be enforced, enforcing compliance with physical game destruction presents a significant challenge. This new stipulation aligns with Ubisoft’s decision to delist titles, magnifying the concerns voiced by the Stop Killing Games movement, originally sparked by the removal of The Crew from availability.
In another notable section, the EULA allows Ubisoft or its licensors to terminate the agreement at their discretion for any reason, enabling a potential scenario where a game is released and then immediately withdrawn, terminating user access without warning.
This move may be perceived as a reaction to the Stop Killing Games initiative, indicating the growing tension surrounding game ownership rights.