Overview
The Crew: Motorfest is an open-world racing game built around a festival structure on scaled-down versions of the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Maui. Released on September 14, 2023, by Ivory Tower and Ubisoft, the game organizes its content into "Playlists," each themed around a specific car brand, motorsport discipline, or cultural moment. Rather than chasing a narrative across a continent-spanning map, players work through curated event sequences that feel more like themed exhibitions than traditional race ladders.
The festival format draws obvious comparisons to the Forza Horizon series, and those comparisons aren't unwarranted. Motorfest leans hard into the idea that racing events should feel like experiences rather than checkboxes. A Playlist dedicated to Japanese street cars plays differently from one built around classic American muscle or offshore powerboat racing, and that variety keeps the core loop from going stale across dozens of hours.
The game originally started life as DLC for The Crew 2 before Ivory Tower expanded the scope into a standalone title. That origin shows in how confidently the game handles its vehicle variety and map design, building on years of feedback from the previous entries.
Gameplay and mechanics
At its core, Motorfest gives players control over three vehicle categories:
- Cars across road, off-road, and track disciplines
- Boats for offshore and pro racing
- Planes and helicopters for aerial events
The Playlist system is where the game earns its identity. Each Playlist chains together races, side activities, and challenges around a central theme, rewarding completion with curated vehicles and cosmetics tied to that theme. The progression feels intentional rather than arbitrary, which is a meaningful improvement over the more sprawling structure of The Crew 2.
The open world itself serves as connective tissue between events. Oahu is the primary playground, with Maui offering a more compact but visually distinct alternative. Driving between events isn't just loading screen filler since the islands are dense enough to reward exploration with hidden collectibles and photo opportunities.
Multiplayer and social features
Motorfest includes two standout multiplayer modes that push beyond standard online racing. Grand Race packs up to 29 players into a single cross-country event that blends car, boat, and plane segments into one continuous race. It's chaotic in the best way, and the mixed-vehicle format means raw driving skill isn't the only factor.
Demolition Royale takes the battle royale concept and applies it to a shrinking arena where the goal is survival through vehicular carnage rather than clean lap times. Both modes give the online component genuine personality rather than just mirroring the single-player experience with human opponents.
What platforms is The Crew: Motorfest available on?
The Crew: Motorfest is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via both Steam and the Epic Games Store. The game is rated Teen by the ESRB for mild violence and lyrics. A free trial version has been available, letting players sample the opening hours before committing to a purchase. The standard edition carries a $59.99 price point on Xbox, with Gold and Ultimate editions offering additional content bundles.
Content and replayability
The Playlist structure gives Motorfest a replayability argument that holds up better than a traditional career mode. New Playlists have been added post-launch, extending the content slate beyond what shipped in September 2023. Vehicle customization covers both visual and performance tuning, and the garage fills out quickly thanks to event rewards and the in-game store. For players who want to push past the curated content, the open world supports free-roam challenges and time trials that keep the map feeling alive well after the main Playlists are finished.