Assassin's Creed publisher Ubisoft pulling game from peoples' libraries with zero warning

Ubisoft has seemingly begun pulling The Crew from owners’ libraries following the shutting down of the game’s servers.

It’s no secret that the games industry is always trying to unlock the next major live-service hit, following in the footsteps of Fortnite, Destiny 2, and Apex Legends.

Back in 2014, Ubisoft released one of their first major forays into the market with online racer The Crew.

Whilst it did receive mixed reviews for its online reliance, The Crew did go on to spawn a successful franchise, with The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest both following in its footsteps.

As with many live-service attempts though, The Crew’s days in the sun drew to a close last month.

Back in December, Ubisoft announced that it would be shutting down The Crew’s servers on 31 March 2024.

“In December 2014, we launched The Crew, our beloved first game of the franchise and one of the most ambitious racing games of its time. Nine years later, the third entry of the franchise is live with The Crew Motorfest, bringing Hawaii to our players,” Ubisoft wrote.

“We are extremely proud and thankful of how far we have come, together with a bustling and passionate community and today we wish to share an update on the status of The Crew 1.”

“Today, The Crew 1, including all its editions, and virtual currency packs, will be delisted from all online stores. The game will remain playable until March 31st, 2024, for all The Crew 1 owners. After this date, the servers will be shut down.”

Take a look at the latest entry, The Crew Motorfest, in action below.

“We understand this may be disappointing for players still enjoying the game, but it has become a necessity due to upcoming server infrastructure and licensing constraints. Decommissioning a game, and especially our first one, is not something we take lightly,” they continued.

“Our goal remains to provide the best action driving gameplay experience for players and to deliver on it, we are continuing to provide new content and support for The Crew 2 and the recently launched The Crew Motorfest.”

It was always clear that The Crew would become unplayable after 31 March but many players still expected to see the game remain in their libraries, perhaps replayable one day via private servers.

As reported by PC Gamer, that’s not been the reality though as Ubisoft has been revoking all licenses.

Within Ubisoft Connect, The Crew has been moved to the inactive games section. “You no longer have access to this game. Why not check the store to pursue your adventures?” reads a message.

Game preservation is a serious concern as of late, and this exemplifies why.

With so many studios dedicated to creating live services games, you can understand why there are so many concerns about ownership.

Many of us throw a fair bit of money into in-game cosmetics, subscriptions, and currency. It’s worrying to think those things can all be void and gone one day.