It’s been almost four years since developers KT Racing and publishers Nacon announced Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, originally with a 2022 release date. Since then, we’ve been treated to dribs and drabs of news, the odd trailer, and plenty of delays. Finally, though, its publishers have given us a specific release date: 12 September 2024.
The third entry in the TDU series, it’ll once again be an open-world racer set on a one-to-one scale recreation of a real-life island, this time Hong Kong Island. As with the prior games, there’ll be a heavy focus on a luxury lifestyle, with prior trailers showing casinos and nightclubs.
Accompanying the release date announcement is a new trailer, narrated by two characters representing each of the game’s factions – the Streets and the Sharps. We can only assume there’ll be a cutscene in which members of both walk towards each other singing and menacingly clicking their fingers.
Interspersed with this are the two characters racing one another in a variety of different cars, giving us more of a glimpse at what’s looking like a pretty diverse car list. We get pairings of hypercars, muscle cars, open-top and closed-roof sports cars, and even some classics famed for their rally success in the shape of the Lancia Stratos and Alpine A110.
Lancia Stratos in Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
This is all said to be taking place up to three years in the future, with the date on screen gradually rolling back until it arrives at the 12 September 2024 release date. Which may well end up looking awkward if the game gets delayed again. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for now, though, and hoping that the game lands as planned this autumn on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S and X, and Nintendo Switch.
Solar Crown is set to face some stiff competition in the open-world racing genre, with Forza Horizon 6 rumoured to be getting officially announced soon, and newcomers Maverick Games entering the arena with an as-yet-untitled ‘narrative-led’ racer backed by Amazon.
