Ubisoft Learns From Scandal Surrounding The Crew; Sequels Will Get an Offline Mode. Check Out Free Map Expansion in Motorfest and Other Big News
Today was The Crew Showcase, where Ubisoft and Ivory Tower presented the future of the series. The presentation was dominated by content for the second year of development of The Crew: Motorfest (with the island of Maui in the lead), but the most important news was the announcement of an offline mode in TC2 and TCM.
The aftermath of this incident is still being felt online, so you likely recall the uproar caused by the shutdown ("killing") of The Crew's servers almost six months ago. Ubisoft has not overlooked the commotion - today we have received an announcement that an offline mode will be added to The Crew 2 and The Crew: Motorfest in the indefinite future.
No specific information has been given yet on how this feature will work (anticipated to be provided in the "upcoming months"). Although it won't bring the "only child" back to life, the decision can initially be assessed positively. Who knows, maybe it will inspire the Nacon company to introduce a similar option in the game Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown, which is already struggling with unstable servers in early access for the "chosen ones..."
New island in the 5th season
But let's get back to The Crew: Motorfest, because the offline mode is just the beginning of a long list of new features coming to the game, shown today during The Crew Showcase event. An update is set to be released on November 6, marking the start of the fifth season and a significant development in the title's progress (effectively the beginning of the second year of support).
On this day, the map will be expanded for free to include the second major island, Maui. It was announced back in June, and now the gameplay footage (below) shows off a variety of new locations – including a long bridge connecting Maui to O'ahu (without the loading screen).
New activities will be abundant there, with the Made in Japan Vol. 2 playlist leading the way in terms of free attractions - continuing the story of automotive culture in Japan.
Furthermore, the update will introduce a change that players have been waiting for since the first installment of the series: car mirrors will finally display reflections as they are supposed to. We will also have the opportunity to unlock vehicles and other seasonal rewards (e.g. from Summit challenges) that we missed - we can purchase them using "prestige tickets," a new currency earned by replaying completed playlists in custom mode. This in turn could inspire the developers of Forza Horizon 5…
Chase Squad and Year 2 Pass
The Year 2 Pass will also include paid new features. Its buyers will primarily receive Chase Squad. This is a quasi-police game mode in which we participate in the pursuits of drivers controlled by artificial intelligence (alone or in cooperation). The thematic playlist will help introduce it, enabling you to test out seven quasi-police machines, including a helicopter.
In addition, the pass will include 13 new cars – most of them may be available for purchase without DLC for virtual currency, like almost all of the Year 1 Pass. On November 6, the BMW M5 CS (2022) and Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 (1989) will appear, the remaining cars will be added at a rate of one per month, and among them will be the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT (2021) and Maserati MC20 Cielo (2023). The gameplay also featured the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS (generation 992), but it is unknown when and how it will be added to the game.
The Crew 2 for half off
The Crew Showcase was also highlighted by special sales. The Crew 2 is now available almost for free - it costs $1 on all platforms (Steam, PS Store, Xbox Store). The game The Crew: Motorfest has also been heavily discounted - on Steam you can buy this title for $19.79. The price has been lowered for only certain editions on consoles, the standard one has not been discounted yet. The offers will expire on the night of September 23rd to 24th.
Additionally, a Lamborghini Urus (2017) will be added to your garage in TCM for free, if you log into the game within a day from The Crew Showcase.
