Fan-made version of Ubisoft’s The Crew is finally available to download

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I’m so excited! A group of fans just released a way for us to keep playing *The Crew* even though Ubisoft shut the servers down. It’s been over a year in the making, and honestly, it’s amazing that they did this. The original shutdown really sparked the ‘Stop Killing Games’ movement, and while this doesn’t fix everything wrong with modern gaming, it means at least some of us can still enjoy *The Crew* forever now!

The fan-made version of The Crew has now been released; fans keep the game alive

The game *The Crew* stopped working on March 31st, 2024. Because it required a constant internet connection, even people who bought a physical copy of the game couldn’t play it anymore. This surprised many players, as owning a physical game has traditionally meant you could always play it. While more and more people are buying games digitally, these purchases depend on companies and online stores staying open. We’ve already seen this happen with Nintendo’s Wii U and 3DS stores, where players lost access to games they’d bought. The same thing could happen with the current Nintendo eShop, the PlayStation Store, or even Steam in the future.

I remember when *The Crew* came out, it was a real wake-up call for a lot of us gamers. It hit home that just owning the game on disc or cartridge didn’t actually *guarantee* we could keep playing it forever. Ubisoft’s still dealing with a lawsuit over it, with people saying they should have warned us about that risk when we bought the game. That’s why now, when you buy on Steam, you see stuff about buying a ‘license’ to play – which basically means they can take it away if they want. It’s a bit unsettling, honestly.

A fan-made version of the game *The Crew* is called *The Crew Unlimited*, a fitting name considering its expanded content. However, these types of fan-created games and modifications aren’t always easy for most players to find or use. The creators also state that players need to obtain the original *The Crew* game files themselves, as they aren’t authorized to distribute copyrighted material owned by Ubisoft, which is understandable.

This release is exciting for fans who love the game, but it’s also a consequence of concerning industry practices. Ubisoft’s choices, and those of other gaming companies, created the need for this in the first place. While the movement to preserve games is gaining traction, there’s still work to be done to change how games are sold. Thankfully, it seems like this has cheered up some players, and that’s a positive outcome.

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2025-09-16 04:32