The Crew is getting a new game as Ubisoft announced The Crew: Motorfest. Although not a game-changing addition to the open-world racing genre, The Crew garnered a sizable fanbase over the years thanks to the franchise's two titles. Many speculated that a new game was in the works for a while. Now Ubisoft's announcement has made it official and comes as welcome news for those who were expecting a new The Crew title.
Developed by Ivory Tower, the popular open-world racing franchise's last entry came in the form of The Crew 2 in 2018. While the game itself didn't set any records for Ubisoft, it still managed to generate excitement among fans in hopes of what the studio does next with the series. This expectation was validated by 2021 when an unannounced The Crew project was reportedly leaked with the codename "Orlando." Though unconfirmed at the time, Ubisoft's reveal offers a glimpse of what the new racing game will look like.
The announcement was made via an official teaser trailer for The Crew: Motorfest. Following a tone similar to Xbox's Forza Horizon 5, the in-game 4K footage showcases a variety of environments ranging from the beaches to rainforest environments, all based in O’ahu, a part of the Hawaiian archipelago. The studio mentions that the festival will feature "a series of tailor-made races, themed events, and other unique challenges" in the new game. While Ivory Tower is yet to announce a specific release date, The Crew: Motorfest will be launching later this year and is now accepting registrations for its insider program.
Of course, the official reveal might not come as a surprise for some fans, particularly considering how a leak from November 2022 pointed to a possible beta version of the upcoming The Crew heading to Steam. At the time it was believed that Motorfest may have been originally intended as a DLC for The Crew 2 and that its scope eventually grew enough to garner a full-scale follow-up title.
The Crew: Motorfest comes at an interesting time since the publisher recently delayed and canceled a number of upcoming Ubisoft titles, including its battle arena PvP game Project Q. In any case, the announcement of a new The Crew game indicates that the company may be actively looking to explore and grow its footing in the racing genre. Time will tell how fans of the franchise will find the new open-world racing title and Ivory Tower will undoubtedly be keen to deliver on player expectations when it eventually hits stores.
The Crew: Motorfest will be released in 2023 on Amazon Luna, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.