The eighth installment of the Forza Motorsport franchise is a highly anticipated release that’s riding high on the back of Horizon 5‘s excellent reception. This is everything we know about the upcoming racing title so far, including the latest leaks and rumors.
As regular players of the popular racing game will know already, the franchise splits its new titles into two different types, with the Motorsport collection focusing on track races and Horizon offering a much more ‘sandbox’ open-world experience.
While Playground Games develops the Horizon games, Turn 10 Studios lead the charge on the Motorsport front. Branded as a reboot of sorts, the game is not titled ‘Forza Motorsport 8’ as many expected and marks the debut of the track-based side of the franchise on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
If there’s one thing that we know for certain already, it’s that the trailers and in-game graphics will be top of the range, but there’s a lot more to expect than just that.
Contents
- Does Forza Motorsport have a release date?
- Forza Motorsport trailers
- Which platforms will Forza Motorsport be on?
- New Forza Motorsport features
- Forza Motorsport gameplay
Is there a Forza Motorsport release date?
There is no concrete release date yet for the game. Initially, the studio confirmed that Forza Motorsport would launch in Spring 2023.
However, during Xbox’s Developer_Direct on January 25, Microsoft now says that the release date is 2023. This has led to some speculation from fans and industry insiders that the game may not meet its anticipated release date.
Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb reported after the showcase that his sources had informed him that Forza Motorsport had been delayed until late 2023. However, this report has not been confirmed by Xbox.
Forza Motorsport trailer
So far two trailers for the upcoming Forza title have been released online. The initial announcement trailer was shared via the official Xbox YouTube channel on July 23, 2021.
The most recent trailer was revealed at the Summer Game Fest on July 12, 2022, and was followed up with a stunning gameplay demo that detailed the returning fictional circuit Maple Valley. The footage utilizes full ray tracing and a time dynamic feature that results in some incredible graphics.
You can check out all the trailers below:
Forza Motorsport platforms
While nothing has been confirmed so far in terms of a release date, there is one thing we do know – what platforms the game will release on.
Forza Motorsport will indeed be available on Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC, but in traditional Forza style, it will not feature on the Playstation platform.
New Features
The trailer at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase gave us a great idea of some of the upcoming content. The entire gameplay shown in the trailer was captured in-game at 4K resolution and brings back a handful of fan-favorite maps and tracks.
Maple Valley (last seen in 2005’s Motorsport game), along with Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, and Laguna Seca Raceway is set to return with the launch of Forza Motorsport 8. Two new tracks namely Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit (a South African track) and Circuit Hakone (an original, high-speed Grand Prix circuit set in Japan) will also debut in the Spring 2023 title.
On top of that, every track in the game will come to life with a fully dynamic time-of-the-day system being implemented, revealing stunning details. Ambient temperatures will affect the track surface temperatures which will further affect the grip of your cars.
Xbox also overhauled the entire driving experience with a significant improvement in the game’s physics simulation. New features like tire and fuel management, multiple tire compounds, ray tracing shaders, and new in-depth car building will bring out your ultimate inner racer.
You’d also be able to show off your Car Damage as the system has been made more realistic and authentic in the new Motorsport.
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Next-gen graphics
It has been confirmed that Forza Motorsport will feature ray tracing, as confirmed by creative director Chris Esaki. He has also stated that players will be able to enjoy impressive visuals across all tracks, games, and environments in the upcoming Forza Motorsport game.
In addition to this, Turn 10 studio architect Chris Tector gave us an insight into how Forza Motorsport will take advantage of the Xbox Series X hardware during an interview with Engadget:
“With the wheels, we no longer have to compromise with those approximations, because they would always end up with this really flat lighting, or there wouldn’t be enough light interaction between the wheel and the brake discs and the fender. It’s a big, complicated, tight space in there, and now, we’re able to actually get a very realistic look to that wheel.”
Prior to the inclusion of onboard ray tracing in the next-gen consoles, Tector said that developers used to mimic lighting effects instead of implementing them fully, utilizing tools such as cube maps and static textures.
What resolution will Forza Motorsport run at?
Turn 10 studios have promised that players can expect the new iteration of the series to run at a silky-smooth 4k/60fps.
New Forza Motorsport cars and tracks
As it is still early days in the development of the game, we have yet to receive a full car or tracklist. That having been said, there have been some obvious inclusions that we can see from the trailers. From a recent Development Direct, 20 tracks have been confirmed to be in the game.
You can read our ongoing list of confirmed cars for the new Forza Motorsport here.
Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca is an obvious inclusion as this is where the majority of the release trailer is ‘filmed’. Maple Valley Raceway has also been seen in a number of playtests, seemingly confirming its inclusion in the upcoming Forza Motorsport game.
In the Developer Direct, 5 new tracks were teased. With the track, Kyalami, being the very first to be situated in South Africa. The track is most likely based on the real-world Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit.
A ‘complete reboot’ of the Forza Motorsport series
With the release date for Forza Motorsport being anywhere from a few months to nearly half a year away depending on which rumors you believe, there have been leaks about new features to expect in the game.
Forza is clearly aiming to go back to its motorsport roots with Forza Motorsport. Stripping the number from the title makes it clear that this is a complete series reboot.
Career Mode
Details on a Career Mode for Motorsport are incredibly light. If Idle Sloth is to be believed with their feature leaks, however, players will get a mode akin to Need For Speed, with “character cinematics and a full-blown storyline.”
In a recent Develop Direct update, Creative Director Chris Esaki described the new single-player career as “car building focused.” But it is still unknown what the new career mode will look like.
What do we know about Forza Motorsport gameplay?
Features such as dynamic track and tire temperatures have been circulating the rumor mill. This means that tracks will get gradually ‘rubberized’ lap-by-lap as cars pass over and deposit sticky rubber from their tires. This in turn will increase the grip of the track on the racing line.
In a world-first for the Forza Motorsport series of games, rallying and off-road races are set to be included. SUVs and off-road vehicles are also meant to play a pivotal part in this area of the game. Race sizes are also set to be increased, which would make NASCAR significantly more realistic.
Do we know anything about Forza Motorsport online multiplayer?
While details on the multiplayer for the new Forza Motorsport are slim, it will be competing with the likes of Gran Turismo, Project Cars 3, and Assetto Corsa Competizione. Because of this, it is likely that the online multiplayer system will also receive a thorough overhaul.
That’s everything we know about the eighth Forza Motorsport game so far! Be sure to check out our other release hubs for more upcoming games below:
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