Forza Motorsport: Release date, platforms, gameplay & what we know so far

Forza Motorsport is just around the corner, giving racing fans a good reason to get excited. The Forza Motorsport games have been on a bit of a hiatus since 2017, but look to return in a big way with this new iteration.

Bringing the classic racing sim back to its roots seems to be the focus of this new title, with an emphasis on next-generation realism. Here is everything we know so far about the new Forza Motorsport.

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Is there a Forza Motorsport release date?

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Forza Motorsport will launch on October 10, 2023, on Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.

After a long wait, it's good to finally see a release date - but players with the Premium Edition can play five days earlier.

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Forza Motorsport trailers

The announcement trailer for Forza Motorsport was released in June 2020, which showed off cinematic footage of cars dashing around racetracks, and scenes of the racers prepping for their competition.

It didn't really tell us anything about the game other than it was set to be a next-gen experience and a reboot of the long-running franchise.

It wasn't until June 2022, during the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, that we got an official look at the gameplay of Forza Motorsport, and a breakdown of some new systems by the game's director, Chris Esaki.

Everything shown was captured in-engine, showcasing the completely revamped visuals that allow for raytracing, dynamic time of day, enhanced graphical capabilities, and much more. Additionally, the engine is so powerful, that it's even being used for the next Fable outing.

Ahead of the launch, the first 17 minutes of the game have been shown off in a trailer released by Forza. This video of the early game shows the player getting to try out some impressive cars, before starting their career in earnest in a Honda Civic Type-R.

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What do we know about Forza Motorsport gameplay?

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Gameplay-wise, we probably don't need to say too much to explain Forza Motorsport, but we can confirm that you still drive very fast cars in races. The Motorsport games were always about professional racing on official tracks, in comparison to the Horizon titles, which are about street racing in massive open worlds.

As expected, this is still the case with the Forza Motorsport reboot, so you'll likely see many of your favourite tracks from previous games return along with new additions from real-life courses from across the globe.

The new dynamic time of day feature also does more than just change the lighting and weather effects, as this can have massive effects on races. Motorsport's Game Director gave the example of how the time of day can affect the racetrack temperature, which in turn changes how cars handle, meaning you'll have to take into account far more variables when racing. 

With the extra development time, Turn 10 has also gained the chance to improve the actual feel and quality of the racing in Forza Motorsport, boasting a "48x improvement" to the accuracy of the physics simulation.

We don't know exactly how the improved simulation will change the feel of the game until people start to get their hands on it, but it's a good sign of the improvements made to the game beyond the superficial graphical changes. 

During the Xbox Developer Direct in January 2023, it was also revealed that Forza Motorsport will contain over 500 cars for players to fully customise and race with.

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Is Forza Motorsport an Xbox platform exclusive?

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Forza Motorsport will be zooming onto the Xbox Series X|S and PC on launch, making it the first truly next-gen racing title. Players with Xbox Game Pass subscriptions will also be able to play the game on day one.

So that's everything you need to know about the upcoming Forza Motorsport. For more, head to our Forza Motorsport homepage, and for all the info you need on games like Starfield and Baldur's Gate 3, stick with GGRecon.