Ubisoft’s decision to shut down The Crew’s servers earlier this year caused controversy as it revoked players’ licensing to the game. To prevent similar issues in the future, the publisher announced plans to add offline modes to other entries in the open-world racing series.
Last December, Ubisoft began delisting The Crew from digital storefronts and announced the permanent shutdown of the game’s servers on March 31st. The always-online nature of the game meant that players lost access to both multiplayer and single-player content.
The backlash against Ubisoft’s decision sparked discussions about video game preservation and led to the creation of Stop Killing Games, an initiative aiming to challenge the trend of purchased games becoming unplayable. The controversy deepened when Ubisoft quietly started revoking owners’ licenses to The Crew, preventing them from downloading and installing the game.
Five months later, Ubisoft addressed player concerns about access to The Crew in a social media statement. While the original game may not be revived, the publisher is committed to protecting its sequels by introducing an offline mode. More details will be provided in the coming months.
In response to this announcement, Stop Killing Games founder and YouTuber Ross Scott expressed hope that the addition of an offline mode to The Crew 2 and Motorsport was a response to investigations into the legality of disabling The Crew 1.