The Crew 3 is real and an announcement is coming tomorrow

The Crew 2
(Image credit: Ubisoft)

The Crew 3 is in development and will be announced tomorrow, according to the official The Crew Twitter account. Ubisoft's open world racing series has never been a real hit with critics, but it must have its players: The Crew 2 still receives updates and seasonal events nearly five years after its 2018 release, which is a longer period of care than its main competitor—the Forza Horizon series—ever receives.

The confirmation has perhaps been prompted by a dataminer, who claims to have found evidence of a forthcoming The Crew instalment in the The Crew 2. Indeed, Ubisoft's Project Orlando has been a known quantity for years now, and has been assumed to be a racing game. According to the dataminer, Project Orlando has become The Crew: Motorfest. 

Project Orlando first came to light as part of that ginormous Nvidia database leak. At the time it was believed to be DLC for The Crew 2, but the aforementioned dataminer—whose screenshot has since been smited by a copyright claim—claims it has evolved into Motorfest.

…and that seems very possible. Ubisoft has yet to officially confirm the name The Crew Motorfest, and based on its interactions today, The Crew 3 could be the name. We'll find out soon: the announcement is slated for January 31 at 5pm UTC / 9am PST / 6pm BST, or February 1 at 4am AEST.

Amid share price plunges and a mood of general struggle, Ubisoft announced it has cancelled three unannounced projects last week, including a "team battle arena" title known as Project Q. Now we know that Project Orlando—or the Crew 3, or The Crew Motorfest—is not among those cuts. The project's survival is welcome news, to me at least, who has always wanted The Crew to be good. The sequel introduced planes and boats to its huge open world rendition of the United States, and while it was a bit of fun, the driving and presentation was just no match to Forza Horizon 4, which released months later. Fingers crossed they nail it this time.

Our The Crew 2 review pretty much agreed: "An impressively huge, occasionally beautiful map doesn’t make up for mediocre driving and a lack of multiplayer options," Andy Kelly wrote. 

TOPICS
Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.

Read more
Need for Speed Unbound screen
Need for Speed is effectively on hold while Criterion musters entirely around Battlefield, but EA assures players the racer will return in 'new and interesting ways'
Screenshot from Wreckfest 2
Wreckfest 2 has hit early access for your car-obliterating combat racing enjoyment
rainbow six siege sledge
Ubisoft announces the 'biggest transformation in Rainbow Six Siege's history' for later this year, so big they're adding an 'X' to the name—But don't call it a sequel
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, showing various racing competitors hurtling through the air
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds looks like a return to the over-the-top arcade fun of All-Star Racing Transformed, and we'll get to play it this month
Tony Hawk doing a kickflip or whatever the hell it is in the cover art for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake is real, and it's coming in July with new skaters, parks, music, and more
Image of Yasuke striking an enemy in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows is delayed again 'to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months'
Latest in Racing
Victory screen of Big Rigs showing infamous "You're Winner" message under a three-handle gold trophy
One of the worst games ever made is coming to Steam, but we won't know how cruel this joke is until we see the price tag
Screenshot from Wreckfest 2
Wreckfest 2 has hit early access for your car-obliterating combat racing enjoyment
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders
Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders is getting a new mountain next month and a whole bunch more throughout the year, including a game editor
A 1950s pickup truck smashes through a building while being cornered by a police car in Deliver At All Costs
Chaotic courier sim Deliver At All Costs will crash through your letterbox this May, and its latest trailer is even weirder than I expected
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds, showing various racing competitors hurtling through the air
Sonic Racing CrossWorlds looks like a return to the over-the-top arcade fun of All-Star Racing Transformed, and we'll get to play it this month
A masked sniper pointing his rifle in Nightmare Kart
Superb Bloodborne-inspired racing game Nightmare Kart is getting free DLC featuring sniper rifles and supercharged penny farthings
Latest in News
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Starfield: Shattered Space
By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'