Ubisoft is shutting down The Crew, that much isn’t news, as it was revealed earlier this month, but what is shocking is the discovery that an offline mode was conceived. It’s pretty obvious the game dev won’t just tick that box and allocate a little bit of resources to ensure the game is future-proofed.
Players on Steam (alongside Reddit and SomeOrdinaryGamers) pointed out that while the game is shutting down and it’s a real shame, what is even more bizarre is that it’s letting it shut down rather than patching an offline mode to this rather unique concept game. For context, The Crew, which spawned its own series, was the starting point with a rendition of the United States plastered as its backdrop, letting players drive across the country.
Back in July, Jimmy Jam TF2 took to Steam to point out that using a hex editor uncovers a new mode in the main menu that let players play offline, likely to be a testing mode for the internal staff and such. The mode is just hidden from view from average players. The user also said a majority of the game is already offline, with the exception of some modes found across the US-based map.
Unfortunately for Jimmy Jam, his post did age poorly as here we are, saying goodbye to the expansive racer.