The Crew Motorfest is set in a scaled-down version of the islands of Oʻahu and Maui in Hawaii, themed around a festival that serves as the main area for accessing events. Gameplay is similar to that of previous games in the series, featuring online multiplayer features referred to as a “crew”, and the ability to control vehicles other than cars, such as planes and boats.
The main part of the game is “Playlists”, which consist of a series of staged events, side activities, and challenges. Multiplayer modes include “Grand Race” and “Demolition Royale”. The Grand Race is a 10-minute race for 28 players online, split into three tiers of racing, with sections and tiers changing every 30 minutes and the route random for each race. Demolition Royale is a demolition derby-based battle royale mode for up to 32 players, where crews compete to destroy each other’s vehicles in a shrinking safe area, utilizing power-ups like shields and health.
The game features a live-service mode called the Main Stage, consisting of a monthly theme with unique limited-time rewards, and a weekly “Summit Contest” where players compete in races and feats to earn points for tiered rankings—Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum—with exclusive prizes for the top 10,000 players. A “Custom Show” allows players to customize vehicles to the weekly theme and receive votes from other players for rewards.
The Crew Motorfest was developed by Ubisoft Ivory Tower and began as a DLC expansion for The Crew 2, but evolved into a standalone title when ideas for changes in progression structure proved incompatible with the existing game engine. Internally known as Project Orlando during development, the game was leaked under the title The Crew Motorcamp before being finalized as The Crew Motorfest.
A teaser trailer was released on January 31, 2023, followed by a closed testing period for PC beginning on February 1, 2023. Journalists noted similarities between Motorfest and the Test Drive Unlimited games (2006 and 2011), as several developers from Ivory Tower had previously worked on those titles, and both games share Oʻahu as a main setting.
On June 10, 2024, Ubisoft announced that The Crew Motorfest would include the Hawaiian island of Maui, along with “The Chase Squad” content, becoming available on November 6, 2024 as part of the Year 2 plan. A level editor was added in March 2026, with the team consulting TrackMania developers during its creation; over 30,000 user-made tracks were created during the first week of the update.
According to review aggregator website Metacritic, The Crew Motorfest received generally favorable reviews from critics. In Japan, Famitsu gave the game a total score of 35 out of 40. The game was nominated for “Best Sports/Racing Game” at The Game Awards 2023.
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