The Crew is back from the dead, as Ubisoft's defunct racing game has been revived by a fan-made server emulation project that allows users to play in online and offline game modes. This fan-made project, called The Crew Unlimited, is currently available as a mod for users who already own a copy of The Crew on PC.

Players sue Ubisoft over The Crew server shutdown

Originally launched in 2014 as an online-only title, The Crew was controversially taken offline by Ubisoft in November 2024. Despite the company's continued support for The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest, the original title remains officially inaccessible. The Crew's shutdown drew the ire of players, resulting in a lawsuit against Ubisoft and the launch of the Stop Killing Games campaign. With over 1.4 million European Citizens' Initiative signatures, the goal of Stop Killing Games is to enable players to preserve online-exclusive games, such as The Crew, via servers or other methods after they are taken offline by the developers.

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The Crew Is Back Thanks To A Fan-Made Revival Project

Despite Ubisoft's controversial decision to end The Crew, the first game in the iconic racing franchise is back in an unofficial capacity. As reported by PC Gamer, The Crew Unlimited is now live for players to download as a mod for The Crew. The mod was created with the intention of bringing The Crew back to a playable state through the use of a custom server emulator. This method subsequently allows the game to be playable in online and offline modes, with the latter made possible as a local server running on a user's PC during normal gameplay. Accessing The Crew Unlimited requires players to download and install its launcher, which can then patch and manage The Crew's game installation and save files.

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However, running The Crew Unlimited comes with a few caveats. Players must already have downloaded and installed The Crew on PC before the game's 2024 shutdown, or risk committing piracy and obtaining The Crew via illegitimate means. However, The Crew Unlimited stated on its Discord server that it had no way of knowing if players are using a legitimate copy of The Crew or not. It is also worth noting that The Crew Unlimited is not affiliated with Ubisoft or Ivory Tower.

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Thankfully, Ubisoft's racing franchise is showing no signs of slowing down, as rumors of The Crew getting a fourth game began circulating over the summer. It remains to be seen if or how Ubisoft will respond to fans' continued push to keep The Crew alive.

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The Crew Tag Page Cover Art

The Crew
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Racing
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 62 /100 Critics Rec: 7%
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Released
December 2, 2014
ESRB
T For Teen due to Language, Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
Developer(s)
Ubisoft Ivory Tower, Ubisoft Reflections
Publisher(s)
Ubisoft
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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Engine
Babel Engine
Genre(s)
Racing