Nine years after its release, the game has entered the digital graveyard: Ubisoft’s Ivory Tower is now well into its third installment (The Crew Motorfest).

The French publisher announced on its blogthat The Crew has already taken the first of two steps towards its demise: “In December 2014, we launched The Crew, our beloved first game in the franchise and one of the most ambitious racing games of its time. Nine years later, the third entry in the franchise is live with The Crew Motorfest, bringing Hawaii to our players. We are extremely proud and grateful for how far we have come together with a vibrant and passionate community, and today we want to share an update on the status of The Crew 1.

As of today, The Crew 1, including all editions and virtual currency packs, will be removed from all online stores. The game will remain playable for all owners of The Crew 1 until March 31, 2024. After that date, the servers will be shut down and the game will no longer be accessible on any platform, including PC / Xbox 360 / Xbox One / PlayStation 4 / Amazon Luna and Ubisoft+. We understand that this may be disappointing for players still enjoying the game, but it has become a necessity due to upcoming server infrastructure and licensing constraints. Shutting down a game, especially our first game, is not something we take lightly. Our goal remains to provide players with the best action driving experience possible, and in order to do that, we will continue to provide new content and support for The Crew 2 and the recently launched The Crew Motorfest,” Ubisoft wrote.

Anyone who recently purchased the first installment of the franchise, which has reached 40 million players, can get their money back, but this situation shows that games with live services that require a server connection have an expiration date. That’s bad, because you can’t preserve them for the future. And that is the saddest part.

Source: PCGamer