As a pre-launch surprise, KT Racing has revealed that the Ibiza will appear in Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown just three months after launch, as part of its first-year content plan.
Releasing on September 12, Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown will feature a 1:1 recreation of Hong Kong Island to race around, but the announcement that Ibiza will return to the game this year is a huge thrill for fans – it was where TDU2 took place 13 years ago. Again, it’s a 1:1 recreation, but of the city and its outskirts, rather than the entire island.
The first two seasons will also feature free Solar Pass progression tracks that can unlock recent cars, then Season 3 will focus on the Clan Wars, and Season 4 will return with another fan-favorite attraction, the Casino.
Here’s the KT Racing summary:
Season 1 – Launch Content September 12, 2024
The Solar Crown Competition is opening its doors! Upon release, the most competitive players will be able to take part in a series of races and crazy challenges to climb the ranks, collect Solar Points, and climb to the top of the leaderboards in hopes of becoming the next Solar King/Queen. This first season also includes 60 player levels, 50 levels of Sharps/Streets clan progression, and a free 25-level Solar Pass with various rewards, including cosmetics and an exclusive car.
Season 2 – Ibiza Town Returns
This second season marks the return of a familiar location that TDU2 fans have known for 13 years: Ibiza (Eivissa in Catalan) returns to TDUSC, more magnificent than ever. Players will be able to discover the city and its outskirts, recreated 1:1 in the KT engine, offering players a different and complementary experience to Hong Kong Island, 3 months after the game’s launch. The season will be accompanied by an island-exclusive clan progression with 20 recent levels, the Solar Pass, recent rewards and exclusive cars, including 5 car models revisited for the occasion.
Season 3 – Clan War, an ever-evolving game mode
This third season revolves around the clash between the Sharps (who consider themselves the elite of sophistication and luxury) and the Streets (provocative and sometimes extreme, trying to make their mark) on Hong Kong Island and Ibiza/Eivissa, with the advent of the Clan War. This season will also feature 30 recent levels of clan progression and seasonal content additions.
Season 4 – The Casino, an iconic location in the Unlimited series
The fourth and final season of Year 1 marks the grand return of the Casino, a fan favorite from Test Drive Unlimited 2. This recent version of the Solar Crown Casino will offer players the opportunity to wager virtual currency across a variety of activities, including poker and slots. In addition to introducing 50 player levels, the Casino will allow players to win exclusive recent cars, cosmetics, and prizes.
Of course, in addition to these seasonal content updates, KT Racing will be updating the game in tandem with player feedback. For example, there will be ongoing work on cameras and steering wheel animations in the first-person cockpit view. They are also considering fan requests such as Properties, Motorcycles, and more.
Announced back in 2020, the game has been a long time coming for fans of previous games in the series – the last of which arrived in the early 2010s on PS3 and Xbox 360 – to get a real confirmation of when Solar Crown would release. Initially slated for September 2022, KT Racing has been given another two years to bring its vision of Test Drive Unlimited to life.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown will take players to Hong Kong Island, offering a full-scale recreation of reality, with a mix of urban sprawl and dense wilderness. There will be plenty of high-speed racing to be found in the game and its surroundings, with players choosing between the Sharp and Street clans as they compete for dominance on the roads of Hong Kong, but TDU has always celebrated cars and car culture as much as the racing itself. The intention is for it to be more of a social MMO, as opposed to the car-based bonanza of other open-world racing games.
Source: press release
