
The Crew 's downloadable content, Wild Run, which was positively reviewed by players, also prompted the studio to focus more on developing content regarding offroad racing. Players can stay in these hubs to play the missions that interest them and do not need to force themselves to visit other hubs to play through missions that do not interest them. To solve the problem, Ubisoft overhauled the game's progression system and decided not to focus much on the game's narrative, which would require players to complete missions in a very specific order, and instead divided the game into several hub worlds, with each representing a unique driving style. One major critique was that players did not have enough freedom to explore the world and do missions.

Parts of the development was based on the feedback they received on the previous installment. The Crew 2 was developed by Ivory Tower, a subsidiary of publisher Ubisoft. In Pro Racing, the player is assisted by Alexis Kendrick. In Freestyle, the player is assisted by Sofia Valentina Herrera and her father, Emmett Lee Parker. In Off Road, the player is assisted by Tucker "Tuck" Morgan. In Street Racing, the player is assisted by Latrell Jordan. There are four disciplines: Street Racing, Off Road, Freestyle and Pro Racing. The game features a nonlinear story, that follows the unnamed player character as they become a racing icon in the United States by winning in all racing disciplines available in the game. The game's downloadable content, known as "The Motorpass", adds additional vehicles and vanity items. As with the previous title, The Crew 2 requires a constant internet connection to play. This mode can also be played solo with artificial intelligence.

It also features a cooperative multiplayer mode, which allows players to join any events besides "boss" events together. Similar to the first will place a huge emphasis on multiplayer. These themes include off-road, street racing, pro racing, and free-style. The game features four different hub worlds, with each having their own theme and playstyle. Players can switch between controlling air, land and sea vehicles instantly.

Each vehicle has its own control physics, meaning that game play is different when players are controlling different types of vehicles. In addition to cars, players can control other kinds of vehicles, including airplanes, motorcycles, and powerboats. It features a persistent open world environment for racing and free-roaming across a scaled-down recreation of the contiguous United States. In the game, players assume control of a racer who is trying to work their way to become successful in multiple vehicular racing disciplines. Similar to its predecessor, The Crew 2 is a racing game.
