New Test Drive Unlimited Game Pushed Back to 2023, Skips PS4, Xbox One

Exploring this version of Hong Kong won't require pledging allegiance to China. But you will need a PS5 or an Xbox Series console.
A computer-generated image depicts a silver BMW i8 and an orange Lamborghini Huracan Performante racing down a neon-lit Hong Kong street.
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Originally scheduled for release Sept. 22, “Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown” has now been pushed back to an unannounced date in 2023, developers wrote.

“With so much support from fans of the series, we know many of you will be disappointed, but our goal with ‘Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown’ is to make it the most polished gaming experience in the franchise by spending more time on its development,” developers wrote this week in a Steam blog post.

What’s more, those looking to explore and build a supercar collection in this game’s virtual replica of Hong Kong next year will have to get their hands on a current-gen console—either a PlayStation 5 or one of the Xbox Series machines—because the game’s last-gen PS4 and Xbox One versions have now been canceled.

“Finally, with the aim of making the most of the technology in the latest consoles and maximizing the overall quality of the game, NACON has decided to no longer develop ‘Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown’ for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One,” devs wrote near the end of the post.

It’s not all bad news, though. The makers of Test Drive are promising closed beta phases for keen fans to test an early version of the game “long before it releases.” The upcoming racing title will also apparently feature a major “lifestyle” component, letting players not only buy, drive, and form bonds with their virtual rides but also do all the little stuff you’d do in a car in real life like, “listening to the radio while driving, putting the top down when the rain stops, using the turn signals properly, and even simply opening the window.”

For the uninitiated, “Test Drive Unlimited” is a series of open-world racing games—Forza Horizon before Forza Horizon, essentially—with the last entry, “Test Drive Unlimited 2,” having released way back in 2011. Its long-overdue follow-up, “Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown” will continue to offer open-world car thrills, but notably do so on a 1:1 scale map of Hong Kong Island (so, excluding Kowloon). As impressive as that may sound, HK physically isn’t actually that big of a place, as densely populated as it may be. According to GTPlanet, the TDUSC map, if geographically accurate, would “roughly mirror[s] the size of Forza Horizon 4‘s map, with almost 350 miles of road.”

Still, though, I’m mighty stoked to finally get to visit a rendition of my hometown roaring around in what I’m sure will be a vast array of luxury performance cars without, y’know, the risk of being locked up for talking shit about the CCP. #freehongkong

Got a tip or question for the author about the next TDU game? You can reach him here: chris.tsui@thedrive.com