Forza Motorsport: everything we know so far

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Forza Motorsport was first announced back in 2020. Since then, developer Turn 10 Studios has shown off gameplay, and revealed a rough release window for the game. It follows 2017’s Forza Motorsport 7, and serves as a reboot of sorts for the series.

While there’s still plenty that remains a mystery, it certainly looks like Forza Motorsport will be a technical showcase of what the Xbox Series X can really do. We can’t wait to see how it compares to Gran Turismo 7 on PS5

At present, over 40 cars have been shown in pre-release footage, alongside a handful of tracks. The visuals are a serious upgrade, to say the least, and comments from the developers make it seem like Forza Motorsport will really push the limits in terms of car physics.

Here’s everything we know about Forza Motorsport so far, including a look at gameplay, and details on when you’ll get to play it. As more info is revealed, you’ll find this page updated. Hopefully we’ll hear more on the full release date in the coming months.

Forza Motorsport: cut to the chase

  • What is it? The eighth entry in the Forza Motorsport racing series
  • When can I play it? Spring 2023
  • What can I play it on? Xbox Series X|S and PC

Forza Motorsport: release date and platforms

Close up of a yellow car

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Forza Motorsport will arrive in Spring 2023 (likely between March and June), and will release on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC. 

With the game being targeted for the newest consoles available, we can reasonably expect it to take advantage of some new features, such as ray tracing or a 120fps mode. It’s rumored that Forza Motorsport will launch on Xbox One too, but that remains unconfirmed. It’ll also be available on Xbox Game Pass from day one.

However, there’s currently some doubt regarding this launch window. During September’s Forza Monthly (opens in new tab) stream, General Manager Dan Greenawalt and creative director Chris Esaki offered a development update, confirming polishing won’t begin until next year. Greenawalt said: 

“The final stage, which will be entering as we get into next year, is polish. And polish is really critical. If you’ve got a massive game like [Forza] Motorsport and a lot of new systems you’re rethinking, that’s a lot of surface area to polish. And it takes a lot of time. The real art of game development, is not biting off more than you can polish. […] We’re deep in production now, and we’ll be heading into that polish phase, sometime in the next year.”

No delay has been confirmed yet by Microsoft but we’ll keep this updated as we learn more.

Forza Motorsport: gameplay

Forza Motorsport close up of the inside of a racing car

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Forza Motorsport looks like a racing sim as pure as they come, providing a big update on what Forza Motorsport 7 offered. For starters, it’ll be a “huge generational leap” over previous games. Chris Esaki, the game’s creative director, shared details on how Forza Motorsport’s physics have evolved from Forza Motorsport 7. 

“To put the physics work into perspective… the changes we made from Forza Motorsport 7 till now, is more than the changes we made from [Forza Motorsport] 4 through [Forza Motorsport] 7. It’s basically a huge generational leap coming to the game.” 

According to Esaki, the tire collision model has also been overhauled.  From the first game to Forza Motorsport 7, tires have always had a single point of contact with the track surface, and refreshed at 60 cycles per second (60Hz). 

In Forza Motorsport, there are now eight points of contact with the track surface, and the engine will refresh at 360 cycles per second (360Hz). That’s a 48x fidelity jump for a single-tire collision. Multiple tire compounds have been confirmed too, a series first. Tire compounds such as hard, medium and soft will deepen the gameplay and racing strategy, and Esaki said it will lead to “exciting new gameplay decisions during a race.” 

Environmental factors will also need to be taken into account in Forza Motorsport, and have the potential to make each lap feel different, according to Esaki.

“We’re working on things like track temperature and how it affects things like grip and tire pressure, and tire wear. In addition, you can imagine how changes in the time of day and weather, along with the new tire wear modeling and all of the new compounds lead to a much deeper driving and racing experience.”

Forza Motorsport trailers

Forza Monthly (June 2022)
Shortly after the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase reveals for Forza Motorsport were shown, a new Forza Monthly video was published. This broke down the main announcements that happened at the show, and went a little more in depth on what was shown.

Gameplay Demo
The official trailer for Forza Motorsport was immediately followed by a stunning gameplay demo, which showcased the fictional circuit known as Maple Valley. Fully utilizing ray-tracing and new dynamic time features, seeing is believing and you can watch the full demonstration below.

Official Trailer
During the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase in June 2022, Forza Motorsport received an official new trailer. Lasting just over a minute, we got a look at how hard Turn10’s pushing this new Xbox hardware.

Announcement trailer
Forza Motorsport was announced with a world premiere trailer at Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase in 2020. The trailer doesn’t give much away but the in-engine footage is certainly impressive. Check it out below:

Forza Motorsport: playtests

A close up of an orange car

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Turn 10 revealed that the Forza Feedback Panel (opens in new tab) will be how players can get their hands on the next Forza Motorsport, so the game can be shaped by the community.  Signing up is simple: you must be over 18 years old and agree to a confidentiality statement, which you can opt out of at any time if you decide to leave the program. 

The first playtest took place on May 8, 2021, and resulted in a “ton of great feedback” from the community. According to creative director Chris Esaki. Esaki said that after the playtest, the team was pretty sure that everyone is “super hyped and energized” by what was shown. He also explained that the reason why only small parts of the game are being tested is so Turn 10 gets “critical feedback” on “focused areas”. 

But if you happened to miss out on the first playtest, fear not. More playtests are expected to take place in the future, though we’re waiting for an exact date on when these will take place.

Forza Motorsport: car list

Mid shift of several cars turning a corner on a sunny day

(Image credit: Microsoft)

What kind of cars can we expect to see in Forza Motorsport, and more importantly, which vehicle will grace the game’s cover? While it’s hard for us to guess the whole roster currently, we do at least get a sense of how many cars will be in the game, based on Forza Motorsport 7’s total.

Forza Motorsport 7 featured 700 cars and 32 tracks, which is an impressive amount. While there’s no guarantee the next game will beat this figure, mostly owing to the fact the cars will likely have to be remodelled or upgraded for the next-gen systems, we hope Forza Motorsport comes close to this figure.

So far, we have had 41 cars confirmed to be in Forza Motorsport, nine of them new. In fact, user YoungRhombus has kept a running list over on the GT Planet forums (opens in new tab). Big thanks to them, as we’ve used this list to help build the one featured below:

As more cars are confirmed, they’ll be added to this section.

  • Acura – 2020 #6 ARX-05 DPi (NEW), 2018 #36 Gradient Racing NSX GT3 (NEW)
  • Apollo – 2018 Apollo Intensa Emozione
  • Aston Martin – 2017 #7 Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3, 1958 DBR1
  • Audi – 2021 RS e-tron GT, 2018 #44 R8 LMS GT3 (NEW)
  • BAC – 2014 Mono
  • BMW – 2018 #1 BMW M Motorsport M8 GTE, 2017 #24 BMW Team RLL M6 GTLM
  • Brabham – 2019 BT62
  • Cadillac – 2021 #31 Whelen Racing DPi-V.R (NEW)
  • Chaparral – 1966 #66 Chaparral Cars 2E
  • Chevrolet – 2020 Corvette Stingray Coupe, 2020 #3 Corvette Racing C8.R (NEW), 1969 Camaro SS Coupe
  • Dodge – 2018 Challenger SRT Demon, 2014 #93 SRT Motorsports Viper GTS-R, 1969 Charger R/T Hemi
  • Eagle-Weslake – 1967 T1G
  • Ferrari – 1967 #24 Ferrari S.p.A 330 P4
  • Ford – 1969 Mustang Boss 302, 1966 #2 GT40 Mk II Le Mans
  • Formula Drift – 2020 #151 Toyota GR Supra, 2018 #64 Nissan 370Z
  • Ginetta – 2019 #6 Team LNT Ginetta G60-LT-P1(NEW)
  • Honda – 1967 RA300
  • Koenigsegg – 2020 Jesko
  • Lamborghini – 2020 Huracan EVO, 2018 #63 Squadra Corse Huracan Super Trofeo EVO (NEW)
  • Lola – 2014 #70 Mazda Speedsource B12/80
  • Mazda – 1991 #55 Mazda 787B
  • McLaren – 2019 Senna GTR (NEW), 1966 M2B
  • Mercedes-AMG – 2018 GT3 (NEW)
  • Mercury – 1970 Cougar Eliminator
  • NIO – 2016 EP9
  • Nissan – 2020 GT-R NISMO [R35], 2019 370Z NISMO
  • Porsche – 2021 911 GT3, 2017 #911 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR2018 Challenger SRT Demon, 2014 #93 SRT Motorsports Viper GTS-R, 1969 Charger R/T Hemi

Forza Motorsport track list

Forza Motorsport screenshot

(Image credit: Microsoft)

So far, we know about five tracks that are set to be included in Forza Motorsport. Once again, thanks to YoungRhombus for keeping a running tally. The confirmed tracks are as follows:

  • WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
  • Maple Valley Raceway (Fictional)
  • Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
  • Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit (NEW)
  • Circuit Hakone (Fictional, NEW) 

Forza Motorsport: news and rumors

Forza Motorsport screenshot

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Forza’s introducing a corner mastery system
While we’re waiting on Forza Motorsport’s next big reveal, Turn 10 has given fans a small update in a new Twitter post. Introducing a new “corner mastery system”, Turn 10 advised this lets you focus practice sessions on those trickier corners around a track. Better still, you can compare corner scores in real time, competing with other players.

See more

Xbox One on the cards?
Initially believed to be console exclusive for Xbox Series X|S alongside a PC release, leaked images suggest that Forza Motorsport could potentially come to Xbox One too.

Earlier this year, on r/gamingleaksandrumors (opens in new tab), two pre-release images of Forza Motorsport appeared, said to have been taken in July 2021. There’s not much to glean from the photos themselves, these only show a garage and a team looking to start this race, but the interesting part is that they reportedly come from an Xbox One build. 

That’s since been “verified” by a mod on this subreddit, though it remains officially unconfirmed by Microsoft and Turn 10. Around the same time, separate Forza Motorsport rumors also emerged from Windows Central’s Jez Corden, who advised in the latest Xbox Two podcast that it’s in beta and some influencers have already played it.

No Xbox One version has been mentioned previously and, given how the game is expected to take advantage of newer features, like 4k resolution and ray tracing, it’d certainly be a surprise.

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