Forza Motorsport 6: Apex marks the series' first appearance on Windows 10

By Richard Devine
last updated

Forza comes to the PC in a free-to-play format.

This isn't quite the Forza 6 announcement that some were hoping for, but nevertheless, it represents some exciting news. With Forza Motorsport 6: Apex, Microsoft is bringing its flagship racer to Windows 10.

And it's free to play.

Free to play should immediately hint that this isn't the Forza 6 we already know, but it's a more stripped back approach. That doesn't mean it isn't impressive in it's own right, though:

"Forza Motorsport 6: Apex" brings the award-winning Forza franchise to Windows 10. Built for Windows 10 PCs with DirectX 12, and powered by the state-of-the-art ForzaTech™ graphics and physics engine, this free Forza experience features all new race modes designed to showcase the thrill of "Forza Motorsport 6" in breathtaking graphics at up to 4K resolution."

That's right. Forza in 4K. Apex looks very much like the full game on Xbox One, the restrictions come in the depth of gameplay. You have less cars, less tracks, and the Showcase mode isn't quite the in-depth career you'll find in the full game, either.

Other notable points to mention include a full 1,000 gamerscore on offer for achievements, mouse and keyboard support (if you really play a racer with a mouse and keyboard), and naturally you can hook into the Xbox Live features on offer with Windows 10.

It's set to be available in the Spring, and we'll be following up with some first impressions very soon.

Richard Devine
Richard Devine
Managing Editor - Tech, Reviews

Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine

48 Comments
  • Well this is a good way to start the morning!
  • I think all new games will appear on both Xbox one and windows 10. It is the only way to support two platforms.
  • @jonny melamet:
    I'll reserve cheers until Microsoft proves their at least three or four year old claims for a re-emphasized gaming push on the PC a little more substantially...
  • Soo what's coming out on Xbox, where it really matters
  • Forza Horizon 3 in Q3, as usual.
  • nothing, it feels like phil is trying to kill xbox
  • Xbox is thriving. It's no longer just the box under your TV.
  • PC > Xbox
  • Forza Horizon 3??? Nooooooooo! Will try this out, love Forza 6 on my xbox
  • We need FH2 and FH3 too on windows 10 :D
  • Not liking this trend of taking AAA titles and making them F2P. Why not just release the full Forza Motorsport 6 and then include a free demo rather than just release a nerfed version of the game with annoying microtransactions?
  • Because PC is not an established market for Forza so they need to find a way to get in.
  • Basically what Phil Spencer said in an interview. The PC racing sim market is well established. This allows Microsoft to dip a toe without a massive amount of effort to see what works.
  • That's BS. They've already built the entire game ... only to hide parts of it behind paywalls and further justify future DLC for a fee that they've already built. That's not dipping a toe in to see what works.  That's trying to profit multiple times for singular works.
  • Well they should've released Forza Horizon 2 then, shouldn't they ? 'Cause FH2 was much more requested by PC players than FM6 anyway.
  • Who said Horizon 3 won't launch on PC when it's released later this year? Horizon 2 is old stuff by now.
  • Well even though ,apparently, the reason why they are not releasing the full version on FM6 on PC is because "the simulation market is well established (on pc)" (which I think is just bullshit 'cause Forza has been requested SO much by PC players that it WOULD have sold a lot, unlike what they seem to think. So if they don't release the full version of FM6 on PC, even though it is not even a new game, I don't see them releasing FH3 on both X1 and PC. Well actually they could do it anyway and say to the xbox fans who are complaining that it's because the Horizon series in a spin-off so it doesn't matter... even though FH2 sold more than FM6.
    Edit: Oh btw Horizon 2 might be two years old, it would still sell more than FM6 if MS was to release both of them at the same time and in their complete version on PC, and I would actually bet money on that.
  • Calling Forza a sim is a bit of a strech. 
  • sim·u·la·tion [ˌsimyəˈlāSH(ə)n]  

     
    NOUN imitation of a situation or process:
    "simulation of blood flowing through arteries and veins"
  • Money, money and money.
  • It's probably a lot easier to put this together than rebuild the full FM6 to support 4K. It's probably cheaper, too. This, like the Fast and Furious Forza Horizon 2 release, seems like a glorified demo to get people looking at a game.
     
  • That's because Steam is selling AAA titles at $0.99 and there aren't any profits for developers anymore.
  • Sure, that's why so many developers put their games on Steam, because they don't make any profits there. lol
  • It's not the full release. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
  • If it has Intel integrated graphics, don't even bother trying.
  • Lol that of if it isn't a top spec cpu like say i7 mobile extreme theres your answer
  • Wow, nice!!
  • Why do they continue to deny a Windows Mobile experience? *sigh*
  • I doubt mobile will ever get a taste of this, at least not W10M, android and ios could well be a different story....
  • What, Forza on a phone? Give me a break.
  • You are, like, heavily underestimating the GPU power Forza needs.
  • Thankfully us pc users gave Assetto corsa and project cars, although I'll give this a shot since it's free Posted from Windows Central for Windows 10
  • Exactly what Microsoft is shooting for I reckon. It's free, so why not :)
  • Indeed, expect that in ny case I would buy it regardless
  • Best news of the day, and there have been quite a few good news today. Have always wanted to play forza
  • Very intriguing. Free-to-play sounds like an aim to get PC folks noticing the franchise before a release of the full game. I wonder if they'll do FM6 as a full release on W10 ever, or just wait for the next one (meaning we maybe get it in 2016, rather than 2017?).
  • For what it's worth, according to CNet: "every new Forza Motorsport racing game will ship on both Windows 10 and Xbox, said Forza series creative director Dan Greenawalt."
  • Fantastic, great time to be a pc gamer
  • It's literally always been a great time to be a PC gamer.
  • less -> fewer
  • Woke up to this news, flopped out of bed freaking out. My life is complete.
  • Noice, I'll definitely try this out (when it's available)!
  • Any chance this will run on an i5 Surface Pro 3 with a down-scaled resolution and low details? Probably not right?
  • No.
  • free? They're going to reem us with microtransactions to get all those achievements aren't they?
  • I wouldn't be so sure that it won't run on a Surface Pro 3 in some capacity, it will be DX12 and that has already shown huge performance gains. So tuned down it may be possible. Just have to wait and see.
  • Its shame parallels isn't being developed for pc anymore
  • Sounds like it's only a console port. if the graphics is still console level, it doesn't worth the attention.