Welcome to Rear View Mirror, your weekly racing game news roundup. As we shift into reverse, these were the biggest racing game news stories that hit the headlines this week.
New Forza Motorsport details revealed
We finally got a fresh look at Forza Motorsport this week. At the Xbox & Bethesda Developer_Direct, Turn 10 lifted the lid on Forza Motorsport, confirming the game will launch with over 500 cars and 20 track environments.
New footage also showed off Forza’s technical prowess, with 4K, 60fps, and real-time ray tracing on every circuit.
Sadly, what we didn’t get was a confirmed release date. Forza Motorsport’s release has slipped from Spring 2023 to “coming 2023” and is reportedly delayed until the second half of 2023 according to industry insider Jeff Grubb.
Forza Horizon 5 Japanese Automotive revealed
Forza Motorsport may have stolen the spotlight this week, but Forza Horizon 5 fans weren’t left out.
This week saw the reveal of the new Japanese Automotive Series. Celebrating Japanese car culture, Japanese Automotive starts next week, with new reward cars including the highly requested 2023 Nissan Z.
Not only that, but you can also create your own car parks with new EventLab props.
GRID Legends Winter Bash DLC
Criminally underrated, GRID Legends received its fourth and final DLC pack this week.
Out now, the Winter Bash expansion adds three new cars including the ballistic Bugatti Bolide, which makes its console racing game debut in GRID Legends, along with snow-filled races across eight new story chapters.
In other racing game news…
Need for Speed Unbound received its first post-launch update containing balancing improvements for select cars. Sadly, EA also confirmed we won’t find out NFS Unbound’s DLC plans until March.
In other NFS news, an Unbound speed glitch gives players extra gears and playable cops arrived in the No Limits spin-off – a game mode we’re hoping to see in NFS Unbound.
A datamine leak has seemingly confirmed The Crew 3 is called Motorfest, with a reveal rumoured for next week.
A new era of esports sim racing beckons with ESL R1, a new series based on Rennsport with elite teams and a huge prize pool.
Forza Horizon 5 honoured Ken Block by sending free gifts inspired by the Hoonigan to all players and Trackmania finally has a release date on Steam.
Rocket League Sideswipe Season 7 is bringing some big changes to Rocket Pass, indie racer Formula Retro Racing: World Tour is drifting onto Kickstarter, and a new action-packed trailer showcases the career mode in Monster Energy Supercross 6.
In case you missed it…
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Burnout Paradise, we look back at how Criterion's classic set a new benchmark for open-world racing.
We also debate whether Gran Turismo 7 will get a January update, reveal why F1 23 must have an anti-cheat, and react to the lack of Forza Motorsport gameplay shown at Developer_Direct.