The Crew 2 Dominates PS4 Charts, Leaving Motorfest in the Dust Across the US and Europe

PlayStation Blog says that in September, The Crew Motorfest topped the PS5 and PS4 charts in the US and Europe. Ubi's fun arcade racing title found a nice, warm, cozy spot in the European leaderboard in the 9th position.

Motorfest ranked much lower in the United States, in the 15th position. However, it managed to beat Sony's Helldivers 2 at #18, which is saying something. The recent news about the upcoming Maui expansion from November 6 might have helped.

Funnily enough, 2018's The Crew 2 topped the overall PS4 charts in September, nestling in the 2nd spot. It was surpassed only by Minecraft in the United States, while EA Sports FC 25 reigns supreme in Europe. Motorfest also charted on the 11-year-old PlayStation 4, placing it in the 12th spot for Europe, but it's not present on the US leaderboards.

If you were curious about the all-time champ, Grand Theft Auto V, it's omnipresent again. On the PS4 and PS5 US charts, GTA 5 is at number #6 and #7, respectively. In Europe, it's in the 6th spot on PS5, right behind Black Myth: Wukong, while on PS4, it's in the 6th spot.

The release of the free Maui addition on November 6 will surely revitalize Motorfest even more. The game was initially launched in September 2023 to generally fine reviews, with a 76 score on Metacritic. Developer Ivory Tower has taken somewhat good care of the game with weekly discounts, seasonal events, and occasional new vehicle additions.

But they should have released new content sooner and at a higher rate. Ideally, Maui-like addons should arrive every six months, if not every three or four months, so players have an excuse to keep the game installed all year round.

The new island is connected to the original O'ahu map through a series of bridges you can drive on, at least before you unlock fast travel. The purpose is to eliminate loading screens so players get to Maui seamlessly.

They'll likely use techniques similar to those from the recent God of War titles, where you're crawling through a cave or something similar while the game loads at the other end. Honestly, that's way more annoying than watching a loading screen. It feels forced in GoW, but maybe in Motorfest, the transition will be better.

The much-welcomed new environments include "lush rainforests, curvy mountain roads, volcanic cliffs, red sand beaches, teeming cities, and more," as Ubi describes. Bamboo Forest sounds like a graphical treat, boasting impressive lighting visuals with sun rays piercing the tall bamboo forests.

Along with the update, Ivory Tower is bringing a slight graphical upgrade to the smoke, dust, and debris systems, which will react more realistically to your driving. The roads also feature a new "banking system," offering a better drifting experience through corners.

Let's hope they don't go overboard and turn the island into a Gymkhana training ground. The new Motorfest content is less than a month away, right around the PS5 Pro's launch date on November 7. With any luck, it's everything Ubisoft's marketing department makes it out to be.

The PS5 Pro Enhanced version will add more detail to the game's visuals while stabilizing the framerate. However, the PC version is still the king of graphics, provided it's equipped with the necessary beefy components to handle it at native 4K Ultra Settings.

The only downside comes from the developers. It's too bad it's locked at 60 frames per second and will likely remain so forever. On the other hand, Forza Horizon 5 can go well beyond those rookie numbers using various software enhancements like DLSS 3. Nothing's stopping Ivory Tower from doing the same, and if we can't get ray tracing, at least up the cap at 120 fps.