A novel offline mode is now available for Ubisoft’s The Crew 2, which will allow owners to play the racing MMO offline if desired. The functionality – called hybrid mode – is fully explained on the website publisher’s website.
According to Ubisoft, hybrid mode gives us “the freedom to choose” how we want to play The Crew 2. This means online mode (which is “the original experience as it was designed from the ground up, with multiplayer features, leaderboards, peaks and community sharing”) or offline mode (which the publisher describes as a “new experience”).
“Whether you want to save your progress for the future or simply enjoy the freedom of offline play, Hybrid Mode ensures that The Crew 2 will remain accessible for years to come,” explains the publisher.
To take progress offline, players can simply select “Export for Offline Save” after an online session. This will create a copy of your current multiplayer world progress, stored locally on your PC or console. However, Ubisoft notes that online and offline saves are separate, so progress made offline will not carry over to online saves. Players will be able to re-export saved data online at any time to update offline files.
Custom liveries will not be transferred to offline saves.
Offline mode for The Crew 2 announced last year following the shutdown of the original game in March 2024. Disappointed players of The Crew (which was not a free-to-play game, but after its shutdown became inaccessible to its owners – even in solo mode) were rightly concerned that The Crew 2 would suffer the same fate.
“We have heard your concerns regarding access to The Crew games,” Ubisoft said at the time. “Today we want to express our commitment to the future of The Crew 2 and The Crew Motorfest. We can confirm offline mode to ensure long-term access to both titles.”
Ubisoft came later defendant after closinglawsuit the publisher replied insisting that purchasing the game does not give players “unlimited ownership rights” but only a “limited license to access the game.”
Luke is a senior editor on the IGN review team. You can follow him on Bluesky @mrlukereilly and ask him all sorts of things.
