The Origins of The Crew and the Future of The Crew Motorfest Game & Series (Interview)

It’s been a little over two years since *The Crew Motorfest* launched on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but Ubisoft Ivory Tower continues to add new content to the racing game. Recently, they invited *ComicBook* to their studio in Lyon, France, to preview upcoming updates and speak with the developers. *ComicBook*’s Lawrence Sharma interviewed game director and studio co-founder Stéphane Beley about the future of *The Crew Motorfest*, including plans for seasons 8 through 10 and beyond.

The Origin of Ubisoft’s Ivory Tower and Philosophy Behind The Crew

Lawrence Sharma asked about the culture at Ivory Tower and what brings everyone together. He wanted to know what qualities or shared goals connect the artists, developers, and other people who work there.

Let me tell you, I’ve been hooked on video games for as long as I can remember! It really started when I was ten. I was completely obsessed, and especially loved racing and driving games. It’s just always been my thing, a real passion of mine.

Throughout my career, starting in school and continuing to today, my goal has been to create my own driving game. From the very beginning, I was fortunate to attract friends who wanted to collaborate, and eventually, I assembled a team. It started small, but grew from a handful of people to over 100 after we opened our first office, and now we’re at 300. We’ve decided that’s the right size for us and won’t be expanding any further.

Even with the potential for 400 players, we need to pause and evaluate if the investment makes sense. What really motivates us is our love for video games and the desire to create our own successful series. Ultimately, we want to develop a unique and exclusive driving game for Ubisoft – something unlike anything players have experienced before. We envision a large, open world set in the US as the starting point for this journey, but we’re still exploring the best direction.

This project has really evolved, becoming a deep dive into car culture. Initially, it was more about storytelling and didn’t focus on cars themselves. The second phase was about taking control, like being a driver. Now, it’s become like a streaming service for car enthusiasts – viewers can pick and choose what interests them, and I don’t dictate the content.

I’d like to invite you to explore the world of car culture with this game, and to choose your own way to have fun with it. What I especially appreciate is how it captures the feeling of a real-life driving experience. You can observe and enjoy, but also truly participate. It’s incredibly important to our studio and team that we can share this immersive driving experience with you.

How The Crew Is Different From Other Racing Games

Lawrence Sharma asks: As someone who’s loved car games for years and wants to build a successful series, what makes *The Crew* different from other racing games available today?

It’s about more than just driving a car; it’s about the entire experience. Motorfest is designed to let you have fun with your car – customizing it, going on adventures, competing, and simply enjoying everything it has to offer. We want players to explore all aspects of car culture, not just at events. The fact that nearly 3 million people play every month shows they’re doing just that.

Every month, between 2 and 3 million people play our games, and we have over 50 million players total. What’s great is everyone enjoys the experience differently. You can focus on customizing your car and showing it off, compete in races and challenges, or simply explore and have fun with the playlist – which actually makes up 50% of our playtime, with players coming back to it daily.

We’re really pleased with how long players continue to enjoy our game. We’ve seen people playing for years, and that’s thanks to our constantly evolving live experience. Every four months, we add fresh content, similar to how Netflix does. We’re unique in that we deliver a huge amount of new adventures for you and your friends to play, all for free.

Why Player Feedback Is So Important to The Crew’s Development

Lawrence Sharma noted how impactful it’s been to see the game’s development so closely tied to the community and player feedback. He asked when the team decided to prioritize this approach, and why it remains a key focus for the future.

As a player myself, and knowing we’re all players at heart, I believe the most valuable feedback comes from those experiencing the game – not just from us, the developers. Our players are helping us build the future of the game. We’re currently talking with ten players here in the studio, and while we don’t always see eye-to-eye, their thousands of hours of gameplay give us crucial insights. It’s important that we listen to them and are willing to adjust our thinking based on their experiences – that’s what I really appreciate about our player community.

The Crew Motorfest Year 3

I was interested to hear you mention at dinner that some players have already put in over 2000 hours. That suggests the game has evolved in unexpected ways. What were the most important things you learned in the first two years that you’re applying as you move into year three?

Stéphane Beley appreciates the diversity within car culture. He’s constantly learning and finding new ways to enhance the driving experience. While players often focus on competitive aspects and specific requests, he believes introducing unexpected features can encourage them to explore different approaches.

This also applies to players – everyone experiences and enjoys things differently. Some players prioritize planning journeys and exploring using various modes of transportation like planes, boats, and cars, rather than simply driving. They weren’t anticipating such diverse approaches to gameplay.

We shared something new, and players loved it! They’re now asking for even more content like that, which is fantastic. It’s great to see them engaging with it and helping us make it even better.

This pattern applies to all car communities. You see different brands often highlighted – Red Bull, Ferrari, for example. But with Electric Odyssey, we created something *with* the community. Many people initially thought electric cars were only about being environmentally friendly, but together, we built a unique experience that’s become one of our most popular playlists, offering a new way to enjoy car culture.

We’re excited about the upcoming season 8 of Street Rider and our partnership with BMW, which will also extend to NASCAR. We’re actively working to bring in new sponsors and collaborations to enhance the game. Recently, we’ve been receiving a lot of proposals from new brands, which is great, but the volume of requests in the last couple of days has become overwhelming. While we appreciate the interest, it’s become too much to handle at once, even with a potential ten-year outlook.

The Crew’s Branding Deals, Season 8-10, and Beyond

I’m really excited about the upcoming season! I’ve been hearing about these amazing partnerships with BMW and NASCAR, and honestly, the little hints about season 10 have me totally hooked. I can’t wait to see what they have planned!

So you didn’t watch Season 11? This season is going to be tough. I think most Americans will at least recognize the premise.

I noticed NASCAR was mentioned in today’s preview. How does that demonstrate the value of your partnerships, especially when companies are proactively seeking to be involved?

It really varies by brand, but we generally know which ones will be heavily involved. Increasingly, everyone wants to participate in the creative process, and we’re working through designs and plans on paper. They want input at every stage of production, not just to approve things, but to actively shape and refine them.

That’s a bit different.

Now, every brand, from Donut Media to NASCAR, wants to participate. It’s moved beyond simply requesting their inclusion in the game; they’re asking about the overall experience – what content will be featured and how. We work with these brands, challenging them to think differently and collaborating with them on the creative process – and that’s true for projects like Street Rider and BMW Legacy. I really enjoy this collaborative approach every time.

We initially collaborated with Lamborghini and the response was fantastic. They loved the partnership so much they offered us an exclusive car. We had a similar experience with Ferrari and the F-80. In fact, last season, we were the only racing game to feature the F-80 – Ferrari gave it to us as a thank you for the platform we’ve created.

How The Crew Motorfest Came to Have RC Cars

So, we’re discussing car culture and also the new features coming this season. I’m especially excited about Track Forge and the RC elements. While some things are still being finalized before the season launches, it’s going to offer players a really different way to experience the game with these fresh additions.

Stéphane Beley explains that a key goal with The Crew Motorfest is to fully immerse players in the diverse world of car culture. He recalls initially facing some skepticism when suggesting the inclusion of RC cars, but after creating a prototype, the team realized how fun and unique they could be. Even someone who typically focuses on supercars was impressed with the result.

What I love about live games is the ability to experiment with players – after testing with the team, of course – and release unexpected content. That’s something I really admire about The Crew. We can offer not just a variety of cars, but also diverse ways to experience and enjoy them.

I’m having a blast with RC! It’s true, it’s an older style of game – think Rev-Up and those classic RC car games. We just don’t see many driving games like that being made anymore, which is a shame. For me, it’s a way to pay tribute to the games I grew up with and loved. But more than that, I want to share the fun with everyone and keep that classic RC spirit alive – let’s play!

How Old Racing Games Have Inspired The Crew and The Crew Motorfest

Lawrence Sharma mentioned he appreciates how the gameplay can stay new and interesting, especially with the changes being made to NASCAR – things like the physics and materials. He then asked about the game’s inspirations from past titles and what the developers hope to add in the future.

I’ve always loved cars, and I’ve been playing racing games since I was a kid – things like Stunt Car Racing on the Amiga. I’ve tried countless racing games over the years, including the Need for Speed series. Racing was a big part of my childhood, and it’s something I still enjoy today, both in games and in real life. I regularly go to circuits and practice drifting, and that’s what I want to bring to players with this game.

As a gamer, I’m a huge car enthusiast, and I really try to capture that feeling – that raw, exciting connection – not just when I’m watching cars, but when I’m actually *playing* games with them. It’s all about recreating that visceral thrill I get from cars themselves.

The Future of The Crew

Lawrence Sharma mentioned that car enthusiasts will likely appreciate the extensive customization options in the game, which are continually expanding. He then asked about future plans for customization in the coming seasons and what the team is most excited about implementing.

We received approval from the production team. Now we can adjust things like a car’s stance, rims, and wheel position, mirroring what you can do with a real vehicle. It was a really exciting development! This allows players to customize the look of their cars without impacting how they perform, letting everyone create a truly unique vehicle that’s great to look at.

Street racing is a key focus for us, and we made it a top priority for the team. We’re now looking forward to the future, and thanks to the game’s live service and large player base, we currently have over 200 people working on the project – a significant increase from the 80 people who worked on The Crew 2. The success of The Crew Motorfest has allowed us to expand the team and deliver more content, including new customization options, gameplay features, playlists, PvP modes, worlds, tracks, and support for new platforms, all within a 14-month development cycle. We’re also working on team deck features.

We’ve achieved success through a combination of good fortune and dedicated effort. Our previous hard work is now paying off, allowing us to fully realize our vision and expand. I envision significant growth – perhaps up to 100, and ideally 400, more employees. We’re already seeing this potential with ‘The Crew,’ where we consistently deliver substantial content with each season – often more than a single game would offer.

2025-10-16 19:45