New Test Drive Unlimted Solar Crown Gameplay Footage Showcases Racing Element

More than a decade on from the release of Test Drive Unlimited 2, the franchise is back. Well, almost - Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is set for a 2024 release, but to whet our appetite, there’s now some gameplay to look at showing some of the racing users can get up to.

In two minutes and 44 seconds, we see a C7 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 tearing around the streets of Hong Kong, which look awfully empty - we’ll have to wait and see if the finished game has a little more traffic.  We get a brief glimpse at an impromptu race system too, allowing you to flash your headlights at another racer to go wheel-to-wheel in an instant. 

There’s a segment showing a customisation area where numerous performance upgrades are available, plus the option to customise the looks of the car with different paint finishes and - of course - racing stripes.

TDU 3’s map is a 1:1 recreation of the island of Hong Kong, which sounds impressive on the face of it, but this does mean the environment will be much smaller than previous TDU titles. Hong Kong is only about 30 square miles, compared to 600 for the Oahu setting of Test Drive Unlimited and 221 for Ibiza in TDU 2.

Along with the ‘Vette, other cars featured in the trailer include a Lamborghini Huracan Performante (which is seen being challenged to a race), a sixth-generation Ford Mustang, an R35 Nissan GT-R and an Alpine A110. The video’s copyright information also mentions the brands, Bugatti, Dodge, Ferrari and Koenigsegg, and individual car names including Regera, Agera, 911, Carrera, Cayenne and 918 Spyder. A previously released development shot featured an Apollo IE.

Players will be able to join one of two ‘clans’ - the Streets, or the Sharps - to decide which direction they go in. “Each clan defends and promotes its own vision of luxury and passion for cars,” we’re told.

“Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown will be available in 2024” is as specific as it gets in terms of a release date. Originally, the game was slated for a 2022 release. When it does come out, it’ll be available on PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5. A Nintendo Switch port was originally mentioned, but it seems this has either been delayed or dropped entirely.