The Crew Reaches 3 Million Players, Ubisoft Acquires Developer

Ubisoft has acquired The Crew developer Ivory Tower, the publisher announced today. Ivory Tower, based in Lyon, France, was founded in 2007 by a number of developers from Test Drive Unlimited studio Eden Games. The Crew, a socially inspired racing game, was Ivory Tower's first game.

A news release announcing the acquisition was posted to to Ubisoft's blog today, which also confirms that Ivory Tower has 100 employees.

"We've always enjoyed a very positive relationship with Ubisoft. Working together on The Crew, and celebrating its success, made us both understand that we have huge potential in continuing to work together in the future," Ivory Tower managing director Ahmed Boukhelifa said. "By joining Ubisoft, the team at Ivory Tower will continue to benefit from Ubisoft's infrastructure, support, tools, technology, and vision. In return, we will contribute our own expertise to the broader Ubisoft story."

In addition, The Crew has now reached 3 million players, though it is unclear how many copies of the game have been sold. Ubisoft said, following the acquisition, Ivory Tower will continue to support The Crew through future updates, including the Wild Run expansion.

A closed beta for Wild Run will be held October 15-19 on PC. During the testing period, players can take part in PvE and PvP missions, while free roam activities and speed and skill challenges are also available. Everyone who participated in a previous The Crew beta will automatically get in. New users can sign up for the beta here, where more information about the beta is also available.

The expansion, which adds dynamic weather, new stunts, and AI changes, officially arrives on November 17 across PC and consoles. A Wild Run Edition, featuring the base game and the expansion, will also launch on that date.