A class action lawsuit has been waged against Scopely Inc. by users claiming that the online video game company decreased the value of virtual goods purchased on the video game Star Trek Fleet Command (STFC).
Plaintiff Vernon Ackies says that he purchased virtual goods on the Star Trek video game and found out that Scopely decreased the value and the effectiveness of the goods after he bought them.
“Simply stated, Scopely took advantage of, and defrauded, its players through numerous unconscionable commercial practices and fraudulent acts to extract as much money as possible from them,” the Star Trek video game class action lawsuit notes.
The plaintiff states that Star Trek Fleet Command is a multiplayer online game, or “MMO,” which allows players to participate at the same time over the internet. STFC is free to play, but players can buy virtual goods with real money to enhance their abilities compared to other players on the game.
The Star Trek Fleet Command class action states that, for as high as $99.99 players can purchase “resources,” “materials,” “character cards,” “faction credits,” and “ship blueprints.” In addition, the plaintiff notes that game players can purchase “packs,” like “Master Station Upgrade Pack” and “Ultra Ship Power Pack,” which encompass tokens which are used to upgrade a player’s character, space station or space ship.
“Making upgrades to a player’s space station and space ship through the purchase of virtual goods is an important function in STFC. Without making these upgrades, which cost real money, competitive players are unable to advance far in STFC and are easily defeated by other players who have made such purchases and upgrades,” the Scopely class action lawsuit states.
In addition, the plaintiff claims that the defendant represents the importance of upgrading a player’s space station and space ship.
The Scopely class action lawsuit alleges that STFC misrepresents to players the cost of Star Trek Fleet Command’s virtual goods. The plaintiff claims that STFC subtracted more in-game currencies from a player’s balance than the stated cost prior to purchase.
The plaintiff also claims that players pay for virtual goods that had stated benefits and capabilities at the time of the purchase, but that the players did not get those benefits and capabilities that they paid for.
The Star Trek Fleet Command class action lawsuit also claims that in February 2019, after complaints from STFC players, Scopely released an “update” to the game, which was supposed to fix parts of the software that was causing issues.
The plaintiff claims that these updates made changes to the “rules” of STFC, which had an effect on the “in-game economy and cost structure.”
“The February 2019 update, as well as a series of subsequent updates, substantially changed the rules of STFC and the in-game economy, effectively devaluing all prior purchases made by paying players,” the Scopely class action lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiff also alleges that Scopely makes it hard for Star Trek Fleet Command players to file complaints and refuses to issue refunds to players who have lost purchased virtual goods bought with real-world money.
“Refunds are not issued even if the virtual good was lost through no fault of the player…or if a virtual good does not operate as represented,” the Scopely class action lawsuit states.
The plaintiff has filed this action under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, conversion, unjust enrichment, and legal fraud.
Did you purchase virtual goods while playing Star Trek Fleet Command? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Bob Kasolas and Mark E. Critchley of Brach Eichler LLC.
The Scopely Star Trek Fleet Command In Game Purchase Class Action Lawsuit is Ackies v. Scopely, Inc. Case No. 2:19-cv-19247, in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.
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513 thoughts onStar Trek Fleet Command Players Lose Virtual Goods, Class Action Says
I am on server 28 and have been playing for almost 2 years. Scopley is dishonest and cost at my level 39 are beyond ridiculous. I have lost billions of resources due to glitches. Players pay good money and we expect a good game but it’s not
Is nobody talking about the fact that you can purchase resources using real money and it can be stolen by other players….isn’t that virtual theft?
The game was designed from the ground up to be a money making scam playing in the Trek fan base.
It is disgusting how packs sold for $100 don’t even let you advance much (if any), in order to play the game at higher levels it costs thousands upon thousands of $.
Events that you take part in have pay tiers but if you buy the pack for premium (Elite) rewards you then have to pay again to try and finish the event…I have noticed Scopely tweaking the event time vs ability to gather rewards in order to complete…they have changed the balance to put more pressure and emphasis on pay to advance/win.
It is nothing more than a greedy, exploitive money grab and should be illegal but this is becoming the norm in gaming now and not the exception.
Interesting finding this, been wondering if their practices in their Marvel Strike Force game would be considered illegal. Offering characters for hundreds of dollars, then changing related gameplay. Or announcing you’ll need XYZ for an incoming event then changing said requirements after ppl have purchased… What a terrible greedy company.
I’ve spent a couple hundred dollars on STFC and it’s been fun. You know exactly what you’re buying when you purchase a pack so take some responsibility.
I think these comments are mostly people with buyers remorse who spent more money then they can afford and now want to get it back. It’s almost like you buy a new car put 50k miles on it then say you want a refund.
It’s pay to win and there is always going to be some idiot who is willing to spend a few thousand more to get ahead of you.
In my opinion these pay to win mobile games need to be limited by Apple/Google to $100 per month maximum because I’m pretty sure most of these players spending insane amount of money on this game are probably working 8 hour jobs making less than $100k a year. And in some sad cases probably putting thousands of dollars on a credit card which they can’t afford to pay off before paying hundreds of more in interest. It really is preying on some people who can’t control their spending and their desire to win.
These people need to be putting this money into a index fund so they can actually retire before they die.
All of what you’re saying sounds great, the part about Apple and setting limits. But I don’t think people have buyers remorse, I think it has more to do with how you pay money to play but then the game lets other players steal the items you just spent real cash for. Maybe if they made it so that people can only steal resources that you haven’t paid actual cash for (based on time of purchase and time of usage, the algorithm wouldn’t be too difficult to implement) The limiting of spending on the platforms should be something that the platform should give the users the option of, you have the options of so many other things one more option shouldn’tbe hard to add.
This is still happening.
Also spent k$s and have received less than advertised. Also, the game had a glitch about a year ago where the bonus refinery stayed on, which I made use of. When Scopely realized the glitch, they punished the players who were on during the glitch and refined materials.
This game is designed to be a money grab. Just this week they had an event that generated tens of thousands of dollars in the last 15 min of the event and some didn’t even get the big prize after spending all that money. The packs are designed to be a certain price when you get to a certain lev. You can spend 100 dollars and then lose most of what you just spent without warning if you don’t do certain things. I’ve spent over a thousand dollars since I’ve started playing and am still dumb enough to keep spending on the game just to try and stay competitive in it.
I have spent thousands, and just found out they are taking more resources for upgrades and such and giving less than they should for recycling ships.
I can also confirm that they are charging for packs, but giving less for some servers.
Tried contacting scopley and apple and they will not refund any money! Seems like the perfect scam they have setup.
I used to play on server 28 which has been around since 2019. I quit for a while and re-joined on server 45 which has been out since approximately May if this year (2020). After Rev Duece released the video about this, I confirmed it with a friend who’s in server 28 still. Newer servers get less for their money.
I’ve spent over a thousand and have quit recently. This game is BS.
I wish there was a way to get a refund.
They are also misrepresenting the cost of upgrades to players. I had one last night that the game said I was able to do, but when I went to do it, I was told I was short and customer service said they are working on a fix. This to me is false advertising