Microsoft teases next-gen Forza Motorsport for Xbox Series X

By Matt Brown
published

Forza makes its return with a refreshed spin on racing for Xbox Series X and PC — but with a release window still not in sight.

Forza Motorsport Xbox Series X
Forza Motorsport Xbox Series X (Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft has dropped a teaser for its next Forza Motorsport, headed to Xbox Series X and PC.
  • The title received its debut at the Xbox Games Showcase broadcast on July 23, accompanied by a brief in-engine trailer.
  • The game runs at native 4K at 60 frames-per-second on Xbox Series X, with ray tracing support.

Microsoft has unveiled Forza Motorsport, debuting the next iteration of its flagship racer at the Xbox Games Showcase on July 23. The unveiling provided our first glimpse into Turn 10's fresh reset on its racing series, among the early wave of in-house, first-party experiences headed to Xbox Series X.

The latest Forza Motorsport still remains "early in development" according to executive vice-president of Gaming at Microsoft and Xbox chief Phil Spencer, with the series seemingly taking a lengthy hiatus to focus on reworking the fundamentals. We previously saw Forza break away from its annualized released cycle, absent from 2019, with still no release date provided. The move followed strong long-term support supplied for both Forza Motorsport 7 and Forza Horizon 4, which Microsoft is expected to further embrace moving forward.

The trailer showcases native 4K resolution gameplay, running at 60 FPS on early Xbox Series X hardware, with ray-tracing support for advanced lighting and shadows. The title also appears to be skipping Xbox One, only confirmed for Xbox Series X and PC.

Microsoft is yet to provide firm details around availability for the new Forza Motorsport, but wording suggests a launch beyond the initial console debut.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown

Matt Brown is Windows Central's Senior Editor, Xbox & PC, at Future. Following over seven years of professional consumer technology and gaming coverage, he’s focused on the world of Microsoft's gaming efforts. You can follow him on Twitter @mattjbrown.

8 Comments
  • Early development still, after 3 years? They have ZERO excuse if this game doesn't deliver after this amount of time.
  • Obviously u don't know anything about making games and working with further advanced engines.. It takes time!
  • Wasn't asking why it isn't ready, simply pointing out it's been in the pipeline a while, and the teaser couldn't give us even a hint at the "entirely different experience" numerous interviews have referenced.
  • They've been pretty open already about their process for this game. They're not just pooping out Forza 8 to meet the Series X launch date.
  • Wasn't asking where and when though, was i?
  • They spent the majority of that entirely building the engine brand new. And it shows. Those replays looked so detailed.
  • Replays being the hint. It wasn't gameplay, it was video rendered in the engine.
  • I suppose this is ultimately better than the worst-in-class effort they put forth on FM5, where they gutted the game's content to meet a deadline. Doesn't make it not sting to see it so far off though. I can't help but wonder if Forza isn't pushed back because Halo was. MS has few good, established franchises, so stacking Halo and Forza in a release window, paired with longer dev times on each franchise, would mean a seemingly longer drought of first-party blockbusters. I would like to see this release with VR/WMR support on PC, if not Xbox as well, given the lengthy dev time. It would hard to justify not including it, unless they're just going to flat-out admit they have no desire to support WMR. Forza would set up phenomenally for VR and a partnership on VR-focused racing peripherals, IMO.