The message is clear: Ubisoft wants to establish The Crew this year as a direct competitor to Microsoft's extremely successful genre top dog Forza Horizon 5 (test). For this purpose, Motorfest drives in the conceptual slipstream of the racing game from Playground Games, which is on the road in Mexico in the current offshoot.
Car Culture Festival in Hawaii
In The Crew, too, the recipe is now: colorful arcade racing fun in the context of endless festival ecstasy in front of the backdrop of dreamlike landscapes should do the trick. In Motorfest, the latter can be found on O'ahu, one of the eight main islands of the Hawaiian archipelago and home to the federal capital, Honolulu. The exotic location represents a break from the two predecessors, as an extensive map of the contiguous United States was a core feature of the series so far, as was the case with The Crew 2 (test). The new racing game, on the other hand, does not have a number in its name, but only listens to the name Motorfest – so it is quite possible that it is just a spin-off.
As a developer, Ubisoft is meanwhile again relying on the French studio Ivory Tower, which was also responsible for the predecessors. In terms of content, varied routes along palm beaches, lush rainforest and ash-covered volcanic slopes should make up the attraction; the publisher also promises several hundred “legendary vehicles from the past, present and future”. It is still unclear whether this only refers to cars or, as in the predecessor, also to air and water vehicles. In any case, the open-world racing game runs in the Xbox Store under the “Racing & Flight games”.
Release in 2023, more details soon, closed beta soon
Ubisoft plans to reveal more details about The Crew Motorfest in the coming months. This will also include the release date: So far, the publisher is only talking about the year 2023, in which the racing game for PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series X | S and PC should appear. The platforms have the full range, so graphically it will most likely not be a next-gen game. However, official system requirements are not yet available. It should be noted that Ubisoft on the PC is only talking about a release via Ubisoft Connect and Epic Games Store – Steam is probably out of the running, at least for the time being, although some of the publisher's games have recently found their way into Valve's store again.
The Crew Motorfest (Image: Ubisoft)
Starting today, players can register for a closed beta register, during which initially 2,000 selected participants can try out the PC version. Ubisoft has often tried such insider programs in the recent past, including with The Settlers: New Alliances, which has been on a odyssey for years and is now appearing in February. Of course, the strategy is not a guarantee for successful development based on the wishes and ideas of the players.