Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is set in Hong Kong
And it's aiming for release next year
The revival of the Test Drive Unlimited series was announced last year with footage of a developer talking and an unfinished 3D car model. Now we're one step closer to a game existing: there's a new CG trailer below, which reveals the game's setting is Hong Kong.
I'm not normally a fan of CG trailers, but hey, at least this one is directed with some flair:
The Hong Kong setting is exciting, though. The two previous Test Drive Unlimited games were about zipping around an island and buying properties, cars and clothes, but Hong Kong is a lot more interesting to me than Oahu or Ibiza. A largely dense urban environment also sets it apart substantially from Forza Horizon 5's recently announced Mexico setting.
Although we saw nothing of the game in action, the reveal of the trailer during this evening's Nacon Connect stream was followed by an interview with Amaury Beyris and Alain Jarniou, game director and creative director at developers KT Racing. They talked about recreating Hong Kong at 1:1 scale, covered the breadth of environments beyond just the city, and introduced the two clans that players will join and progress through the ranks of while playing together.
It was, frankly, still light on details. TDUSC is an MMO, but I've no idea how MMO-y it is, or how it'll differ from the first two games, or really any of the finer details. There's also a question over Hong Kong not exactly being a political neutral destination. I'm guessing TDU isn't interested in grappling with those issues, but how comfortable are you - am I - going to be when playing a game in this setting that's about getting rich and engaging with brands.
Questions aside, I suppose this reveal did its job since I'm now interested in the game when I wasn't at all before. There's plenty of time to get more info, too, since Solar Crown is not due to release until September 22nd, 2022. In the meantime, you can find a few more scant details on its Steam page.