The Crew (video game)
Persistent open-world racing game set across a scaled-down United States.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
The Crew, an online-only racing game from 2014, was a joint French-British project. Ubisoft Ivory Tower and Ubisoft Reflections handled development, while Ubisoft published it. It launched on PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in December 2014, with Asobo Studio creating an Xbox 360 port. The game offered a persistent open world, a scaled-down version of the contiguous United States for free-roaming, and mixed role-playing elements with large-scale multiplayer.
Critics gave the game mixed reviews at launch. They liked the world design but took issue with the always-online requirement, which led to technical glitches, a confusing user interface, and microtransactions. By January 1, 2015, The Crew had sold two million copies. The first expansion, The Crew: Wild Run, came out on November 17, 2015. The second, The Crew: Calling All Units, was announced at E3 2016 and released on November 28, 2016. Two sequels followed: The Crew 2 in 2018 and The Crew Motorfest in 2023.
Ubisoft shut down the game’s servers on March 31, 2024, making it unplayable since no server software was publicly released. The company also revoked licenses for copies owned on Ubisoft Connect. This shutdown sparked major controversy, including a class-action lawsuit and the Stop Killing Games campaign, which aims to stop publishers from rendering purchased games unplayable. The campaign includes a European Citizens’ Initiative that gathered a significant number of signatures and a UK Parliament petition with 189,890 signatures. A community project called The Crew Unlimited is reportedly working on a server emulator, but no public release has been confirmed as of 2024.
The game’s open world is split into five regions: the Midwest, East Coast, South, Mountain States, and West Coast, each with unique geography. Six main cities appear: Detroit and Chicago in the Midwest, New York City on the East Coast, Miami in the South, Las Vegas in the Mountain States, and Los Angeles on the West Coast. Other cities include St. Louis, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Santa Fe, San Francisco, and Seattle, plus over thirty smaller towns like Nashville and Norfolk. Driving coast to coast takes about 45 minutes in real time.
The single-player campaign, roughly 20 hours long, follows protagonist Alex Taylor (voiced by Troy Baker) as he infiltrates criminal groups. Players can also find
- release_year
- 2014
- developer
- Ubisoft Ivory Tower, Ubisoft Reflections
- publisher
- Ubisoft
- genre
- Racing, role-playing, multiplayer
- platforms
- PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox 360
- units_shipped_by_Jan_2015
- 2 million
- server_shutdown_year
- 2024
- server_shutdown_date
- March 31, 2024
Lore & Background
The Crew is a racing game set in a persistent open world environment for free-roaming across a scaled-down recreation of the contiguous United States. The map is split into five regions: The Midwest, East Coast, The South, Mountain States, and West Coast. Six main cities were featured: Detroit, Chicago, New York City, Miami, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. It would take approximately 45 minutes in real time to drive from coast to coast in-game. The single-player campaign is up to 20 hours long, and entailed infiltrating criminal groups with protagonist Alex Taylor (Troy Baker). Players could participate in mini-games called Skills Challenges, and missions could be played alone, with friends, or with online co-op matchmaking. The multiplayer mode allowed a maximum of eight players. The game required a constant internet connection to play.
The story begins with Alex Taylor being framed for murder by corrupt FBI Agent Bill Coburn after his brother Dayton is killed. Five years later, Alex is released from prison to help FBI Agent Zoe Winters expose Coburn's corruption and arrest the new leader of the 5-10 motor club. Alex infiltrates the club, climbing its hierarchy across the United States, eventually winning a racing tournament in Los Angeles. The plot involves allies such as Omar, Herschel Craig, Eric Tsu, Alita, Roxanne, and Vincent, and enemies including Troy, Cam Rockport, and Shiv.
Upon release, The Crew received mixed reviews from critics who praised the game's world design but criticized the always-online aspect, technical glitches, difficult-to-understand user interface, and microtransactions. The game shipped two million units by January 1, 2015. Two expansions were released: The Crew: Wild Run on November 17, 2015, and The Crew: Calling All Units on November 29, 2016. Two sequels followed: The Crew 2 in 2018 and The Crew Motorfest in 2023.
Reader's Guide
The Crew is significant as an early persistent open-world racing game that attempted to blend role-playing elements with large-scale multiplayer, set in a scaled-down recreation of the contiguous United States. Its always-online requirement and microtransactions drew criticism, but its world design was praised. The game's shutdown in 2024, when Ubisoft revoked licenses and rendered the game unplayable, sparked major controversy, including a class-action lawsuit and the Stop Killing Games campaign. This campaign gathered over 1.29 million verified signatures for a European Citizens' Initiative and nearly 190,000 signatures for a UK Parliament petition, highlighting consumer rights issues regarding purchased digital games. A community project, The Crew Unlimited, released a server emulator on September 15, 2025, making the PC version playable again. The Crew's legacy includes influencing discussions on game preservation and the ethics of server-dependent games, as well as establishing a franchise that continued with two sequels.
Did You Know?
- The game's map is a scaled-down recreation of the contiguous United States, taking about 45 minutes to drive from coast to coast.
- Ubisoft shut down the game's servers in 2024, revoking licenses and rendering the game unplayable, leading to a class-action lawsuit.
- A community project named 'The Crew Unlimited' released a server emulator on September 15, 2025, making the PC version playable again.
- The Stop Killing Games campaign, launched after the shutdown, earned 1,294,188 verified signatures for a European Citizens' Initiative.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Crew (video game)?
The Crew is a 2014 online-only racing title that blends open-world exploration, role-playing progression, and large-scale multiplayer. Players freely roam a persistent, scaled-down map of the contiguous United States rather than being locked into a traditional circuit loop.
Who developed and published The Crew?
The game was a joint French-British project handled by Ubisoft Ivory Tower and Ubisoft Reflections, with Asobo Studio producing the Xbox 360 port. Ubisoft acted as the publisher across all releases.
What platforms can I play The Crew on?
It launched in December 2014 on PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, and an Xbox 360 version followed. Every platform requires a constant internet connection, as the game is strictly online-only.
How does The Crew's gameplay differ from other Ubisoft racing games?
Instead of a fixed set of tracks, The Crew drops you into a persistent open world covering a shrunken version of the lower 48 states. It layers role-playing elements—like earning licenses and unlocking vehicle classes—on top of its racing and large multiplayer events.
How did The Crew perform at launch?
Critics gave it mixed reviews, praising the world design but criticizing the mandatory always-online requirement. Commercially it still moved two million units by January 2015, just a month after its December 2014 release.
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