Mostly Negative Steam Game Receives Free Weekend Promotion

Developers and publishers on Steam occasionally like to share their titles for free for a limited time, giving players the opportunity to try them out. Usually, this promotion is linked with some sort of discount or major content update launch, allowing players to get into the experience and test the waters before fully committing to the purchase.

Today's news, however, comes with a bit of a twist — the title in question is KT Racing and Nacon's Mostly Negative Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. This open-world MMO racing title takes place in Hong Kong Island, giving players the experience of freedom throughout it.

So, what's a Mostly Negative title doing releasing a free-to-play weekend? The simple answer seems to be hidden in the Important Season 5 Update 1 Details news on Steam. Here, the TDU Team announces a new update arriving, giving rise to a new Live Event and — most importantly — the new Online Store gives players the opportunity to purchase Diamond Packs and exchange them for vehicles.

It's been received relatively poorly by the community over on the Steam Discussions, where players are saying that the state of the game doesn't warrant adding microtransactions, and it's also a full-priced title with additional purchasing options. The £39.99 price tag is now the entry fee, with further monetary transactions inside, which has been a controversial approach in the industry.

The free weekend didn't manage to scratch even the surface of the previous all-time concurrent peak, which was set on release on the 9th of September 2024. The 5,305 peak has been unmatched for years, with player counts dropping by the thousands in just the weeks following launch. Since then, peaks have barely reached the 1,000 concurrent players, with the free weekend inviting 766 users in the latest 24-hour peak.

Here's some additional information about Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown:

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown

• Developer: KT Racing
• Publisher: Nacon
• Genre: Massively Multiplayer, Racing, Simulation
• Tags: Racing, Open World, Driving
• Release Date: 12 Sep, 2024
• Steam Link

The free weekend is available until the 19th of January at 18:00 GMT. If you decide to stick with it past the opening experience, the game is at a 60% discount for £15.99 until the 25th of January.