A year after Ubisoft killed its open-world racing game, talented fans have revived The Crew. Almost ready to release, this incredible fan project brings back the racing game MMO after Ubisoft left it in the dirt.
Dubbed The Crew Unlimited, the fan server is set to launch on September 15. Described as a “custom server emulator”, the tool copies everything needed by the game to allow players to experience the racer online again.
At the time of writing, The Crew Unlimited is “feature complete”, but the fan tool is currently undergoing a full testing process before its launch.
“All that is left to do is to thoroughly test and validate the software, then prepare the release,” explained project lead Whammy4.
“A lot of our time and effort has been put into the project, and it’s finally coming to fruition. We are as excited as you are. Thank you all for your patience, understanding and support.”
While The Crew Unlimited fan servers will be available to download here, you’ll have to own or acquire a copy of the game elsewhere. Unlike Ubisoft’s now-dead game, there is no form of copy protection connected to the fan server with the developers saying:
“As long as you manage to run the game files, we have absolutely no way to tell a legit copy from a non-legit one, so we just have to let you in.”
Right now, the fan server only works on the game’s PC version, but the team is investigating console support. Additionally, the fan server supports gameplay mods for offline play and cosmetic mods – such as skins – for those online.
Over the last year and a half, Ubisoft has been lambasted for its delisting of The Crew, especially as the company claimed players never owned the game they purchased. This action caused the Stop Killing Games movement, a still ongoing battle to protect gamers’ purchases from being unceremoniously killed by publishers.
In the past, fan servers have been sent Cease and Desist notices by developers. (In fact, popular World of Warcraft server Turtle WoW was just recently hit by one.) However, with Ubisoft’s past treatment of The Crew and its players, it may be wise to leave this one alone.
