The Crew Returns From the Dead Thanks to Fan-Made Mod

Image Credit: Ubisoft

The Crew is back, and this time, it’s not Ubisoft pulling the strings.

A dedicated group of modders has released The Crew Unlimited 1.0, a fan-made revival that makes the 2014 open-world racing MMO fully playable offline, complete with all DLCs.

Both Steam and Uplay versions are supported, meaning if you still have a copy lying around, you can hit the road again starting today.

Ubisoft officially shut down The Crew’s servers on March 31, 2024, ending its decade-long run. While server closures are nothing new in today’s gaming landscape, this one hit differently.

The shutdown didn’t just frustrate fans; it sparked a lawsuit, fueled the Stop Killing Games movement, and even pushed Ubisoft to promise offline modes for The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest.

Valve also responded by adding clearer purchase warnings on Steam, reminding players they’re buying a license to play, not a permanent copy.

While petitions and legal battles continue, the modding group The Crew Unlimited (TCU) took a more hands-on approach. Over the past year and a half, they’ve been building a custom server emulator to bring the game back. Now, their work has paid off. Players can host their own local servers, keep their save files, and enjoy the game without fear of it disappearing again.

As the team puts it: “Your local server, your local savegames, your game. No one will ever be able to take this away from you now.”

There’s one catch. You’ll need a copy of The Crew to make it work. Since Ubisoft delisted the game, that’s easier said than done. Still, according to TCU’s own Discord, they can’t (and won’t) check whether your copy is “legit,” so if you can run the game files, you’re in.

Setting it up is straightforward: download the mod, run its launcher, point it to your TheCrew.exe, and you’re back in 2014, tearing across the U.S. in your favorite ride.