Without warning, Ubisoft has delisted The Crew from digital storefronts for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, with the servers set to shut down next year. This is a big blow to fans of the original The Crew game. While it spawned two sequels, the original still has a fanbase.
The Crew delisted on digital storefronts
“Today, The Crew 1, including all its editions, and virtual currency packs, will be delisted from all online stores,” Ubisoft confirmed in an update. “The game will remain playable until March 31st, 2024, for all The Crew 1 owners."
"After this date, the servers will be shut down, which means that the game will not be accessible anymore on any platform, including PC / Xbox 360 / Xbox One / PlayStation 4 / Amazon Luna and Ubisoft+.”
Strangely, you can still download a Steam demo for The Crew even though it's delisted.
Even if you already own The Crew, it won’t be playable after 31 March 2024 because it requires an online connection. This highlights an ongoing issue with modern games. Unless they get a patch, games like Gran Turismo 7 will effectively be obsolete in the future if the servers are shut down.
Why are The Crew’s servers shutting down?
As with most online-focused games that get delisted, licensing agreements and maintaining servers are to blame. “We understand this may be disappointing for players still enjoying the game, but it has become a necessity due to upcoming server infrastructure and licensing constraints. Decommissioning a game, and especially our first one, is not something we take lightly.”
The Crew was an ambitious project, launching in 2014 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Developed for seven years, it combined a massive open world set in the mainland United States with MMO racing and RPG-style upgrades. No other racing game could match its sheer scale and ambition at the time.
This setting returned in 2018’s The Crew 2, but the sequel was tonally different. While the first game had a gritty story where you infiltrate an illegal street racing gang to avenge your brother’s murder, the sequel focused on gaining social media followers and sanctioned races.
By contrast, The Crew Motorfest, released in September this year, is set on a much smaller map based on the island of Oahu in Hawaii.
It's disappointing to see The Crew reach the end of the road, but at least it had a good ten-year run.
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The Crew