Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown hasn’t even launched yet, but we’ve already had confirmation that the title’s set to gain a massive expansion only a few months after launch.
Developer KT Racing and publisher Nacon have announced a ‘Year One Roadmap’ detailing the long-awaited title’s post-launch plans, and there’s a pretty big one lined up for this December: Ibiza.
The Balearic island will join the Hong Kong Island setting the game’s launching with as an entire second map, having previously appeared in 2011’s Test Drive Unlimited 2. True to the series’ unique selling point, it’s set to be recreated in 1:1 scale again.
We’re promised it’s been built in the game’s KT engine, which is a good sign as what we’ve seen of the game so far looks pretty visually impressive if a little sparsely populated. It’s presumably been built from scratch, as the island’s last appearance in the series is now 13 years and two console generations old.
Along with an entire new island to explore, Ibiza will bring a location-specific progression system for the game’s ‘clan’ system, new rewards and, most importantly, a host of new cars. These are set to include “five car models revisited for the occasion,” which we assume means cars that last appeared in TDU2.
TDU Solar Crown year one roadmap
The Ibiza update will be something of an early Christmas gift, as it’s set to arrive on 24 December (a sunny Mediterranean island should provide some nice escapism from a dreary British winter, even if only virtually).
Following on from this update, 25 March next year will see the arrival of a Clan War game mode that pits the two in-game clubs – the Streets and the Sharps – against one another. Once again, those names lead us to assume this is going to involve some kind of menacing choreographed finger-snapping.
TDU Solar Crown screenshot
Finally, a 25 June update will bring back the casino, letting players wager their in-game currency on activities including poker and slot machines, with rewards including exclusive cars and cosmetics. There’s no mention of whether any of these updates are going to arrive for free or as paid DLC.
Further down the line, two much-loved features from the first two games – the ability to buy houses, and motorbikes – are also set to arrive.
The base game, meanwhile, is only a couple of weeks away from release, arriving on 12 September on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC. Buyers of the Gold Edition have even less to wait, with their early access beginning on 5 September.
