After six years, Forza Motorsport is approaching the finish line.
A reboot of the series, Microsoft's flagship Xbox racer is making a comeback later this year. It marks the first entry in the franchise since Forza Motorsport 7 in 2017. With cutting-edge graphics showcasing the power of Xbox Series X, a redesigned career mode, and a new multiplayer system, Gran Turismo is about to get some serious competition.
We've got everything you need to know about Forza Motorsport.
Latest news - Forza Motorsport goes gold
Forza Motorsport is celebrating a major milestone as Turn 10 announces the game has gone gold. This means the game has been submitted ready for retail discs to be printed.
Turn 10 has also revealed the Achievements list and file size for preloading. Forza Motorsport weighs in at a whopping 130 GB on Xbox Series X, so you may need to clear some space on your hard drive.
In addition, Turn 10 has confirmed a free November update will add Yas Marina to the track roster.
Gameplay
With less than a month until launch, Turn 10 has presented the opening 20 minutes of Forza Motorsport, showcasing the initial races. It starts with a fast lap in a Corvette E-Ray being put through its paces at Maple Valley in a practice session.
We also get to see the 2023 Cadillac V-Series.R navigating the new fictional Japanese Hakone circuit as well as a full-grid race on the all-new Grand Oak Raceway.
Career mode
Judging from a recent gameplay demo, Forza Motorsport's career mode looks like a huge step up from previous games.
Forza Motorsport's career mode focuses on three pillars: level, build, and dominate. Each event is tailored to different car classes with three elements: Open practice, Challenge the Grid, and Feature Race.
With a levelling-up system for car upgrades, Forza Motorsport could bring back a sense of progression and achievement that's been missing in other racing game career modes - we're looking at you, GT7. Options to enable or disable penalties, damage and tyre wear will also allow for a fully customisable career mode experience.
These are all positive changes, but one aspect is frustrating fans: Forza Motorsport's career mode will require an online connection to progress like GT7.
Platforms
Forza Motorsport will be released on Xbox Series X|S and PC. It will also be playable on Xbox One through the Xbox Cloud Gaming included in Game Pass Ultimate.
However, there won't be a native Xbox One release due to the incredible detail and scale of the game.
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+ 6Forza Motorsport will run at 4K/60fps on Xbox Series X and 1080p/60fps on Xbox Series S.
On Xbox Series X, there are three modes: Performance, Performance RT, and Visuals. Performance mode runs at 4K/60 FPS, while Performance RT offers ray-traced reflections at a dynamic 4K resolution and 60fps. Finally, Visuals mode runs the game at native 4K with ray tracing but at a reduced 30fps to optimise performance.
The less powerful Xbox Series X offers a quality mode at 4K/30fps, while Performance mode runs at a dynamic resolution and 60fps.
PC players will certainly be able to squeeze even more out of Forza Motorsport if they have the hardware to do it. The Xbox Series X version will not support 120 fps, however.
Editions
There will be three Forza Motorsport editions: Standard, Deluxe and Premium.
The Standard Edition just includes the Base Game, while the Deluxe Edition includes the obligatory Car Pass.
click to enlarge + 6Upgrading to the Premium Edition lets you play five days early from 5 October. The Premium Edition also includes the Race Day Car Pack DLC, Car Pass, VIP Membership and Welcome Pack.
You can also upgrade to the Premium Add-Ons Bundle to get early access and all other add-on content included in the Premium Edition.
Improved AI and physics improvements
Forza Motorsport's improved AI and physics will provide more competitive racing and a more engaging driving experience. Forza Motorsport's AI drives more naturally than before without resorting to cheats, but can still make mistakes.
A comparison in June's Forza Monthly showed Forza Motorsport's AI setting a lap time 13 seconds faster than Forza Motorsport 7's.
click to enlarge + 6The tyre model is also upgraded from a 60 Hz refresh rate to 360 Hz, with a 48x improvement in tyre fidelity. This will make the cars feel much more realistic to drive.
It wasn't all good news, however. We also learned that Turn 10 has cut several features at launch including game modes, cars, and tracks.
The track can get rubbered in and washed out with rain only for a dry line to appear, and temperatures fluctuate. All of which will impact your racing.
There will be in-race ray tracing, which is something Gran Turismo 7 doesn't offer, which is a real trump card for those who want visual realism.
Turn 10 has also created a damage model that includes dirt build-up based on airflow over the car and even paint flaking off in the proper direction after contact.
Cars
The Forza Motorsport car list will be huge.
There will be more than 500 cars at launch for Forza Motorsport, beating the 420-odd that Gran Turismo 7 had to offer.
This includes more than 100 that are new to the Motorsport series, which is great to see. While modern cars can be tricky to license, Turn 10 has added more recent models into the game along with classics and thoroughbred racers.
Several new cars making their Forza Motorsport debut including the Nissan 370Z Nismo and Audi RS E-Tron GT, to the Brabham BT62 and Koenigsegg Jesko. Gracing the cover are the 2023 No. 01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R and the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray.
Both cover cars are seriously quick, with the Cadillac having competed in top-level endurance racing and the Corvette being the fastest car Chevrolet has ever produced.
Tracks
As for the tracks you can race these cars on, Forza Motorsport is launching with 20 environments. That's less than Forza Motorsport 7's launch track roster, but every track is rebuilt is rebuilt from the ground up using photogrammetry and 3D material scans.
Unlike Gran Turismo, every track has 24-hour dynamic time-of-day with weather and temperature changes affecting the surfaces, giving Forza Motorsport a huge advantage. The track can get rubbered in and washed out with rain only for a dry line to appear, impacting your racing.
click to enlarge + 6One of the highlights in the Forza Motorsport track list is Kyalami, one of five new circuits making its series debut in Forza Motorsport. Given that the South Africa track is missing from a lot of the more popular racing titles this is a big win for Forza Motorsport. Other new tracks include the fictional Grand Oak Raceway, a tight and technical road course.
Sadly, the fan-favourite Nurburgring Nordschleife won't be available at launch, with the iconic German circuit to be added in spring 2024. More tracks will be added in free updates.
Multiplayer
Forza Motorsport's online multiplayer will feature a new 'Featured Multiplayer' race weekend structure with authentic qualifying, practice, and races. A driver safety rating system will also encourage clean and competitive racing.
click to enlarge + 6Unfortunately, Turn 10 also confirmed that Forza Motorsport won't have several legacy multiplayer features at launch including split-screen.
Wheel support
For players who want the most realistic racing experience, Forza Motorsport supports a wide range of wheel peripherals from Fanatec, HORI, Logitech, Moza, and Thrustmaster.
click to enlarge + 6You can view the full Forza Motorsport wheel support list and see our picks for the best wheels for Forza Motorsport.
Achievements
For achievement hunters, Forza Motorsport has 57 achievements to collect worth a total 1,000 GameScore.
You can view the full Forza Motorsport achievements list here.
Release date
As for the release date, Forza Motorsport will launch on 10 October 2023. This is later than planned as the Forza reboot was originally slated for a Spring 2023 release.
Players who pre-order the Premium Edition can get access five days earlier on 5 October 2023.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Forza page.