Ubisoft’s popular racing game, The Crew, came to an unfortunate end on March 31st. Players who attempted to launch the game after this date were met with a splash screen followed by an error message due to the servers being permanently offline. To make matters worse, Ubisoft decided to revoke the licenses of purchasers and remove the game from their libraries.
Players have reported that The Crew has now been moved to an ‘Inactive Games’ section within their Ubisoft Connect libraries. This means that the game cannot be downloaded or installed anymore. Instead, when clicking on the entry, a message pops up stating, “You no longer have access to this game. Why not check the Store to pursue your adventures?” This move has left many gamers frustrated and concerned about the future of their purchased games.
When asked for comment, Ubisoft referred back to their previous announcement regarding the closure of The Crew. They stated, “We announced on December 14, 2023 that after almost a decade of support, we would be decommissioning The Crew 1 on March 31, 2024. While we understand this may be disappointing for players, it was necessary due to server infrastructure and licensing constraints.” This response has left many players feeling disillusioned and betrayed by the gaming company.
Although The Crew was technically playable in single-player mode, it heavily relied on online servers to function properly. With these servers now offline, the game has become unplayable for all, including those who own physical copies. There was some hope in the gaming community that fans could reverse engineer the game and create their own servers, similar to what has been done for other MMOs. However, Ubisoft’s decision to remove the game from player libraries has made this task much more challenging.
In response to The Crew’s closure, YouTuber Ross Scott has launched the Stop Killing Games initiative. This movement aims to bring attention to the issue of game companies shutting down online servers and revoking licenses from players. The initiative hopes to put pressure on governments and regulators to address ownership rights over digital products and prevent similar situations from happening in the future.
Overall, the closure of The Crew highlights the precarious nature of online gaming and the potential risks associated with purchasing digital products. Players are now left questioning the longevity and security of their gaming investments, as companies like Ubisoft continue to make decisions that prioritize their own interests over the gaming community.
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