As the saying goes, fans always find a way. After Ubisoft shut down The Crew last year, rendering the racing game unplayable, the community project `The Crew Unlimited` has developed a solution to revive the game by September 15.
Rock Paper Shotgun reported that this `server emulator project` is nearing release, with the fan-made team stating, “All that is left to do is to thoroughly test and validate the software.” The Crew Unlimited also emphasized that it is “not affiliated with publisher Ubisoft or developer Ivory Tower in any way.” The modification will be available for free.
Ubisoft deactivated The Crew`s servers in March 2024, making the game unplayable due to its always-online requirement. This meant that game owners couldn`t even access the single-player campaign. This situation prompted a few fans to file a lawsuit against Ubisoft. In response to the backlash, Ubisoft has announced plans to add offline modes to The Crew 2 and The Crew: Motorfest.
Following The Crew`s shutdown, a `Stop Killing Games` movement also emerged. In July, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot was questioned about this campaign during a shareholders` meeting. “And 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,” Guillemot stated at the time. “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 was released in late 2014 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360. The game later received two expansions: Wild Run and Calling All Units. For more details, you can refer to The Crew review.