Of course, there’s a catch.
Forza Motorsport (2023) isn’t going to be launching with as many cars or tracks as Forza Motorsport 7. Turn 10 seems keen on filling that content gap over time and the live service model has proved successful at keeping players engaged.
It’ll be a big turn off for many but I’m excited for the ways Turn 10 seems committed to keeping things fresh. Will it pan out? Who knows. But they recently outlined a monthly post-launch plan that includes:
- Free new tracks
- Free new cars
- Career events (Featured Tour and Open Tour)
- Multiplayer events (Spec Series and Open Series)
- Rivals events (Featured Rivals)
- New Car Pass cars every week
I get the backlash against everything being a live service these days but it’s definitely helped keeping games like Halo Infinite and Destiny 2 feeling relevant. The biggest problem is it’s a lot easier to speculate on than it is to deliver a consistent flow of compelling updates.
The slimmer profile of Forza Motorsport’s overall package is all fine and dandy with me – every track is going to have dynamic time-of-day with weather. I’m also fine with the smaller car list. Turn 10 has really taken its time and everything points to this entry being much more than “just another Forza”. The physics, art direction, technical direction, career progression, and AI all seem to have been put under a microscope and that’s come through every showing the game has had.
As long as we’re not barreling towards a repeat of Halo Infinite’s initial launch the post-release attention to Career Mode and Multiplayer looks perfect to start out with. I only wish there was something more definitive about Rivals. I think a lot more could be done with time trials in Forza and I hope that the main attraction isn’t leaderboards that are constantly rotating out. I’d rather not have to resort to Time Attack – a mode that allows custom tuning.
And this is the main potential problem with their model. It’s great that we could be getting tons of new solid content after release but it’s also content that might end up feeling less significant if there’s no effort to keep some of it permanent (leaderboards). This is where I think something like a seasonal approach could inject life into Forza’s time trials and monthly career – Turn 10 could rank you overall seasonally as well as per each series. I’m sure this will be considered with the online multiplayer but not everyone is going to want to race online.
Like all service games Turn 10 will have to find their groove. There’s bound to be a wind up period before things really start to feel substantial. I’d love to see them take a look at players’ reception and build/expand based off of that. Turn 10’s update (and everything else they’ve shown) really gives the impression of a game they want to stick with and taking player reception to heart could be game changing for how long it stays interesting.
I’ve mentioned in the past how Forza Motorsport has come off a bit sterile at times but overall Turn 10 has really been winning me over with their approach. I’ve been with the series since day one – few settings are as nostalgic as Maple Valley – and it’s damn exciting to get in on the ground floor with a Forza Motorsport that’s looking this fleshed out, iterated on, and polished.
Lover of games, tech, nature, and strange electronic music. Shaped by Sega, PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox – platform agnostic ever since. Currently overwhelmed by choice on my Xbox Series X thanks to Game Pass.