Read the fine print: Ubisoft free game offer waives lawsuits
Ubisoft's offer of a free game to make up for the widespread technological problems of Assassin's Creed: Unity seems generous, but those hoping to take advantage should be aware of a notable caveat tucked inside the offer's fine print.
You'll find the entirety of the relevant legalese beyond the break, but in short it states that by downloading the free game, players are waiving the right to sue Ubisoft or any of its development studios over the state of Assassin's Creed: Unity. This precludes players from suing Ubisoft directly, as well as joining any class-action lawsuits against the publisher.
Keep in mind, this isn't uncommon in the gaming industry. Similar agreements can be found in the Terms of Service for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox Live. Valve added a line barring players from class-action lawsuits two years ago, explaining at the time that even players victorious in suing the company are rarely the true winners. "In far too many cases however, class actions don't provide any real benefit to users and instead impose unnecessary expense and delay, and are often designed to benefit the class action lawyers who craft and litigate these claims," Valve stated.
You'll find the full text of the Ubisoft agreement by visiting the Assassin's Creed: Unity game redemption website. If you'd rather not sort through a wall of fine print searching for the relevant text, you'll find that below.
[Image: Ubisoft]
You hereby irrevocably and unconditionally RELEASE, WAIVE, AND FOREVER DISCHARGE AND COVENANT NOT TO SUE Ubisoft Entertainment S.A., and each of its past, present and future divisions, parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, predecessors, successors and assigns, together with all of their respective past, present and future employees, officers, shareholders, directors and agents, and those who give recommendations, directions, or instructions or engage in risk evaluation or loss control activities regarding the Campaign (all for the purposes herein referred to as "Released Parties") FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY TO YOU, your assigns, heirs, and next of kin FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, DEMANDS, CHARGES, LAWSUITS, DEBTS, DEFENSES, ACTIONS OR CAUSES OF ACTION, OBLIGATIONS, DAMAGES, LOSS OF SERVICE, COMPENSATION, PAIN AND SUFFERING, ATTORNEYS' FEES, AND COST AND EXPENSES OF SUIT, KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, SUSPECTED OR UNSUSPECTED, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE PURCHASE, ACQUISITION, RENTAL, POSSESSION AND/OR USAGE, AND/OR THE INTENT TO PURCHASE, ACQUIRE, RENT, POSSESS AND/OR USE, THE ASSASSIN'S CREED UNITY VIDEO GAME AND/OR THE ASSASSIN'S CREED UNITY SEASON PASS ON ANY AND ALL PLATFORMS, AND/OR RELATED TO THE CAMPAIGN, WHETHER CAUSED BY THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASED PARTIES OR OTHERWISE.
