The Crew Motorfest: Ubisoft game 2023 release date on Xbox Series X, map explained - and pre order details

Get ready to rev your engines and unleash your inner speed demon as The Crew Motorfest - the third instalment in the adrenaline-pumping series - takes you on a wild ride.

Inspired by the Forza Horizon series, Motorfest serves up a thrilling blend of heart-stopping races and challenges, all set in the stunning paradise of Oʻahu, a scaled-down version that packs all the fun without the sunburn.

So, mark your calendar and strap on your seatbelt - here is everything you need to know about The Crew Motorsport.

What is The Crew?

The Crew is a racing game series that focuses on an open-world environment and features both single-player and multiplayer modes.

The first game in the series, simply titled The Crew, was released in 2014, and introduced a massive open-world representation of the entire United States, allowing players to drive across the entire country, from coast to coast, exploring famous landmarks and cities.

The game featured various types of races and challenges, including street racing, off-road events, and police pursuits. It also incorporated a persistent online world where players could team up with friends or other players to tackle missions and compete against each other.

In 2018, a sequel called "The Crew 2" was released, which expanded on the original concept by adding other motorsports disciplines beyond traditional street racing, such as boats, planes and motorcycles. Like its predecessor, it offered a country-wide open-world environment and a variety of challenges to complete both alone and with friends.

Both games also featured a progression system where players could customise and upgrade their vehicles, unlocking new parts and abilities, a gaming sub-genre affectionately known as a "carPG".

What happens in The Crew Motorfest?

Motorfest is the upcoming sequel to The Crew 2, and the third instalment in The Crew series. Similar to its predecessors, the game maintains a large, open-world setting, but instead of a virtual mainland US, players will be driving across a scaled-down rendition of the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu.

The game will centre around an island motorsports festival which acts as the central hub for accessing a multitude of events, reminiscent of the Forza Horizon game series (a series which Motorsport is clearly trying to imitate). Gameplay in Motorfest shares similarities with its predecessors, offering online multiplayer functionality and the opportunity to control not just cars, but planes and boats too.

When can I play it?

The Crew Motorfest is scheduled for release on Thursday 14 September 2023. It will be available on both current and last gen consoles - PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S - as well as PC.

Where is the best place to pre-order The Crew Motorfest?

The Crew Motorfest can be pre-ordered from Game.co.uk, where the last-gen, standard edition of the game is available for £54.99, with current-gen versions starting at £64.99.

Simply click on the relevant link below to be taken to the platform of your choice:

• PlayStation 4
• PlayStation 5
• Xbox One
• Xbox Series X/S

For PC players, the game will be available through Ubisoft's Connect service.

Note: Xbox’s ‘Smart Delivery’ feature - which usually means there is just one ‘Xbox’ version of the game to look out for if you’re looking to buy it physically - will not be in play here. Instead, players looking to play on the newer, more powerful Xbox Series X/S consoles will need to make sure they're purchasing the slightly more expensive 'Cross-gen Version'

PlayStation players will also need to make sure they buy the correct physical version of The Crew Motorfest, since there is no Smart Delivery feature there; if you one day wish to upgrade the PS4 version to its PS5 counterpart, you may need to buy the game all over again!