Here, we explain all you need to know about The Crew 2 including release date, how to play the game early, gameplay details and more. We recently went hands-on with the game, and you can find out more about it in our The Crew 2 preview.
When will The Crew 2 be released?
While Ubisoft had originally planned a release date of 16 March 2018, in December 2017 the company announced a delay to “invest additional development time,” with the game now scheduled only for “the first half of Fiscal 2018-19” – which, given the dates of Ubisoft’s financial year, means anywhere between April and September 2018. Thankfully it wasn’t delayed too far in the future, with Ubisoft confirming its release date in March: 29 June 2018.
What platforms is it on?
The Crew 2 will be available on PC, Xbox One and PS4. Sorry Switch fans!
Best The Crew 2 deals
Dedicated fans can also splash out for the Gold Edition, available from GAME for £74.99. The Gold edition provides access to the game right now, along with the season pass, the digital Deluxe pack and early access to a series of vehicles and outfits.
What can I expect from gameplay?
Although The Crew didn’t get the greatest of reviews, it still has around 5 million players and the open-world nature of it makes it great fun. In fact, the huge map which recreated pretty much the whole of the US (albeit scaled right down) was – and still is – the game’s highlight.
In real terms, there’s 5000 square kilometres to explore, and driving from coast to coast (from Miami to LA) takes about 45 minutes, it’s that big. Anyone hoping for a brand new map and location will be disappointed, as it appears that Ivory Tower has stuck with the original US map and added bits here and there and – oddly – called it MotorNation. Here’s the gameplay trailer for lots more detail: A new control mechanism lets you switch between three types of vehicle during races so you could fly for a while, jump into a speedboat and then finish in a car. This applies to ‘Freestyle’ races.
There’s no offline mode in The Crew and it’s fair to say the game has had more than its fair share of technical problems and glitches. From what Ubisoft has announced, it appears that the sequel will be the same: this is an online racer with the same always-on internet requirement for both story mode and multiplayer racing.
Street racing
Street racing is still core to the game and tweaks include things like ramps to jump onto rooftops for a different perspective during races. Here’s a screengrab of one of the menus which shows how race types are divided up:
Harley Davidson
Thanks to a new partnership with the motorbike manufacturer, The Crew 2 will include Harley Davidson motorcycles – starting with the Iron 883 below.
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.
