The reboot of the Forza Motorsport franchise
Forza Motorsport is a premium racing game developed for PC by game studio Turn 10. It is the latest entry in the popular Forza racing simulation franchise. It will be the eighth installment, but will not have a numbered title that will serve as a reboot for the Motorsport series.
Compared to Forza Horizon 4 or Forza Horizon 5, which focuses on arcade-style gameplay and presentation, Forza Motorsport will offer a more realistic and true-to-life experience similar to that of Gran Turismo. Fans can look forward to playing it when it releases sometime the last quarter of 2023.
Back to its roots
When talking about racing sims, Forza is one of the biggest names in the genre. It focuses on realism and offers professional-level driving experiences with the mainline Motorsport series. Meanwhile, Horizon was developed to cater more to those who prefer a more casual, arcade-style gameplay. Some fans have speculated if the mainline series was no longer, but those doubts were quelled with the announcement of Forza Motorsport.
Forza Motorsport is a reboot of the long-running series and a going back to its roots of sorts for the franchise. Along with support for 4K gaming at 60fps, it will also feature what it calls on-track ray-tracing for some hyper-realistic lighting effects and reflection off surfaces. One feature that was often requested by fans is a dynamic weather system with proper day/night cycles are now included.
Other notable additions include a vehicle damage system that will simulate the direction of impact on your car and much-improved physics. Apart from these, though, there are no other details provided for things like vehicles, tracks, game modes, and other information. The same goes for when you can expect it to come and be able to play it.
Keep coming back to timed events
Forza Motorsport hits the market six years after 2017’s Forza Motorsport 7. It’s also worth noting that it’s different from the Forza Horizon games, the latest of which was 2021’s Forza Horizon 5. Competitive players will definitely keep coming back to the Career Mode. There are rotating, time-limited events that feature specific car models and designs, tracks, and other rewards that players can obtain after completing tasks.
Most sessions also reward players with Car Experience Points (CXP). Unlike other in-game currencies, however, CXPs are earned and used separately with each car in your garage. It is used for upgrading and customizing them. This mechanic is designed to help players appreciate more cars instead of directly heading to the supercars like Ferrari. However, veteran racing players might immediately spot its similarities with Gran Turismo 7.
A return to form
At this point, the Forza series’ biggest competition comes from within its own series lineup, with Horizon stealing a fair bit of attention and player base from the mainline Motorsport titles. Of course, there is nothing wrong with some healthy competition, and the Forza Motorsport reboot will bring just that and is looking to shake up the racing sim scene again.
