''Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown'' is an upcoming open world racing video game developed by KT Racing and published by Nacon. It will be the twenty-first game in the '' Test Drive'' series, the first title in the series since 2012's '' Ferrari Racing Legends'', and the third game in the franchise's ''Unlimited'' reboot, following 2011's '' Test Drive Unlimited 2''. The game was teased on 3 July 2020 on Twitter and was officially revealed during the Nacon Connect event on 7 July. ''Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown'' is set to be released for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...

, and Xbox Series X/S in 2023.

Development and marketing

It was reported in December 2016 that French publisher

Bigben Interactive Nacon (formerly Bigben Interactive) is a French video game company based in Lesquin. It designs and distributes gaming accessories, and publishes and distributes video games for various platforms. In 2020 Bigben Group was consolidated to form Na ...

(now called Nacon) acquired the ''Test Drive'' intellectual property from

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

, with plans to reboot the franchise. In 2018, Bigben announced the acquisition of French game developer Kylotonn, with Roman Vincent, president of Kylotonn suggesting they were working on the next installment of ''Test Drive''. In April 2020, Nacon filed a trade mark to the Intellectual Property Office for ''Test Drive Solar Crown'', the last two words referring to the ''Solar Crown'' in-universe racing competition series featured in 2011's '' Test Drive Unlimited 2''. On 3 July 2020, the official ''Test Drive'' Twitter account tweeted a twelve-second video clip of a crown-shaped logo with the letters "SC" in it forming, announcing a full reveal during the Nacon Connect video event on 7 July. The game was officially announced on that date during the event with a 25-second teaser trailer, with Kylotonn (under their KT Racing brand) developing. Based on copyright text at the end of the video, the game will feature vehicles from (among others to be announced)

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

, Koenigsegg,

Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. () is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi. Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993) ...

, and

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

. The game will feature a 1:1 recreation of

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

as revealed in a trailer released on 6 July 2021 during Nacon Connect 2021. The game will have "a realistic driving experience", indicating that the game will have a realistic handling model and will be more on simulation side, unlike its predecessor ''Test Drive Unlimited 2''. Unlike its two predecessors of both Oahu and

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

, the road will be left-hand traffic, a first in the series since '' The Brotherhood of Speeds Tokyo and London. There will be of drivable roads, as stated on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

news hub for the game. Creative director Alain Jarniou, who worked on the first two ''Test Drive Unlimited'' games, stated in the Nacon Connect 2020 showcase that ''Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown'' has only been in development for "several months" by that time. In April 2021, Nacon published a second teaser trailer that confirmed the game will be released for

(via

and the Epic Games Store),

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, with a new trailer to be released in July 2021. The trailer shows an

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

DB11 and a customized Land Rover Range Rover SVR, along with the hands of a male driver and a female driver driving those respective vehicles and gambling in a casino, indicating that the casino feature found in previous ''Test Drive Unlimited'' games will return. The trailer also shows the key fobs of several vehicles, including those from Audi,

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

, and Mercedes-Benz, placed in a pot, indicating that players can gamble for vehicles in the game. The game's Steam page was also updated to confirm that Apollo will be among the car makes featured in the game. On 18 May 2022, Nacon and Kylotonn announced on the game's Steam news hub that the game will be delayed to 2023 and that the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions have been cancelled to focus on taking advantage of the more powerful hardware provided by their respective ninth generation successors—the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X and Series S—and improving the quality of the game. On 1 March 2023, Nacon and Kylotonn announced on the game's Steam news hub the first of several newsletter features. In the newsletter, the developers have teased dealerships and workshop customizations, whilst announcing that a newsletter will be published every month, containing screenshots and exclusive concept art, gameplay details, live game sessions with the developers, and information on the testing phases.

References

External links

* {{Kylotonn Upcoming video games scheduled for 2023 Nacon games Cancelled PlayStation 4 games Cancelled Xbox One games Driving simulators Kylotonn games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo Switch games Open-world video games PlayStation 5 games Racing simulators Racing video games Unlimited Solar Crown Video games developed in France Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender Video games set in Hong Kong Windows games Xbox Series X and Series S games