Speaking at the New York International Auto Show, Porsche and Microsoft have announced a new six-year partnership based around the Forza franchise. The "multi-project" partnership will kick off with the Porsche-sponsored Forza Racing Championship Season 3: The Porsche Cup.
From Microsoft:
We entered this premium partnership with Porsche as a result of their shared passion for sports cars and motorsport. Porsche has a rich history of motorsport which combined with Turn 10's unrivaled position in digital racing entertainment has formed the basis for a new and exciting form of seamlessly integrated racing entertainment. The partners are working to develop and launch new ways to combine driving experiences, racing schools, and dominant motorsport successes with Forza's regular cadence of high-quality game experiences, content, and events.
The first fruit of this partnership, Forza's Racing Championship New York Invitational present by Porsche will kick off on April 15-16 at Microsoft's flagship Fifth Avenue store. The invitational will include 18 ForzaRC Elite players competing for $25,000 in cash prizes. Microsoft is also planning to stream the event live on Beam, Twitch and YouTube.
The second bit of news to come out of this partnership is a new Porsche car pack, available today for Forza Horizon 3. Available for $6.99, the pack includes the follow 7 cars:
- 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
- 2017 Porsche Panamera Turbo
- 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4
- 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS
- 1995 Porsche 911 GT2
- 1960 Porsche 718 RS 60
- 1955 Porsche 550A Spyder.
Given the 6-year length of the partnership, it's certain that Microsoft and Porsche have plenty of surprises up their sleeves with this deal. That should mean some pretty exciting stuff is on the horizon for Forza fans over the next several years.
