Ubisoft Reportedly Removing Access to The Crew From Buyers’ Accounts

Some Ubisoft Connect users are reporting that The Crew has essentially been removed from their accounts and is no longer accessible. One noteworthy element of The Crew was that it was only playable online, which meant it was inaccessible without an internet connection.

This caveat upset many people, who felt they should be able to play a game they purchased whenever they wanted. The potential issue of an online-only game became even more apparent when Ubisoft announced in December 2023 that it would be taking The Crew’s servers offline on March 31, 2024, and delisting the game from online storefronts.

Now, some players have revealed that The Crew has, for all intents and purposes, even been removed from their Ubisoft Connect gaming libraries. Instead, when trying to launch the game, they receive a message saying that they no longer have access to it. Many people are unhappy with this turn of events because, even if the game is no longer playable, they bought it and feel it should remain accessible. There also seems to have been no warning from Ubisoft that this would happen.

Some Gamers Are Getting Refunds for The Crew

When it announced that The Crew servers would be taken offline, Ubisoft offered refunds for anybody who had purchased the game “recently.” However, this undoubtedly didn’t include people who had bought The Crew years prior. Many people consider the revocation of access to a game they’ve purchased to be theft and are once more calling attention to the potential problems of buying digital goods. Some have pointed out that this loss of access prevents them from setting up private servers to enjoy the game in the future.

Oddly, one Reddit user called axgx2080 shared that they got a refund for The Crew from the PlayStation Store nine years after they bought it. This is particularly notable because it is notoriously difficult to receive a refund for PlayStation digital purchases. However, while this may be a route for PlayStation gamers to try, it probably won’t work for most people and it also doesn’t address the issue of The Crew disappearing from Ubisoft Connect libraries.

It can certainly be frustrating or saddening when a favorite game becomes permanently inaccessible or loses multiplayer features, as in the case of several Assassin’s Creed games whose servers shut down in 2022. When the servers for classic Halo games went offline that same year, many fans mourned the end of an era, nostalgic for the countless hours they’d spent playing with friends online. But those games were not also removed from players’ libraries without warning or permission.

For fans of The Crew who still wish to immerse themselves in the franchise’s ecosystem, there are The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest. Both are considered to be among the best open-world racing games of all time.

The Crew

The Crew is an online-only racing game set in a scaled-down version of the United States. It allows players to team up with their friends to take part in a wide range of races spread out across a massive open world. The game received two major expansions as well as a full sequel in 2018.

Released

December 2, 2014

Genre(s)

Racing

ESRB

T For Teen due to Language, Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence