Fans have once again demonstrated their ingenuity. After Ubisoft rendered the racing game The Crew unplayable last year by shutting down its servers, a dedicated community project known as The Crew Unlimited has developed a solution to revive the title. Players can expect to get back on the virtual roads starting September 15.
Rock Paper Shotgun reported that this “server emulator project” is nearing its release, with the fan-made team stating that only “thorough testing and validation of the software” remains. The Crew Unlimited team also clarified that they are “not affiliated with publisher Ubisoft or developer Ivory Tower in any way.” The modification will be available to all for free.
Ubisoft initially ceased support for The Crew`s servers in March 2024. This action effectively made the game unplayable, even for its single-player campaign, due to its requirement for a constant online connection. The decision sparked significant backlash, leading to several players filing lawsuits against Ubisoft. In response to the widespread discontent, Ubisoft later announced that it plans to introduce offline modes for its sequels, The Crew 2 and The Crew: Motorfest.
The shutdown of The Crew also fueled the “Stop Killing Games” movement. During a shareholders` meeting in July, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot addressed the campaign, stating, “We are doing our best to make sure that things go well for all players and buyers, because obviously support for all games cannot last forever. But that`s an issue that we`re working on. That`s something that the industry at large is working on, to minimize impact on players.”
The original The Crew game was launched in late 2014 across multiple platforms, including PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360. It later received two expansions, Wild Run and Calling All Units, which broadened its open-world racing experience.