The next-generation of Forza Motorsport was first unveiled at Microsoft’s Xbox Games Showcase in July 2020. Since then, developer Turn 10 Studios had been quiet as players wait for the game’s release. Microsoft did release Forza Horizon 5 to critical acclaim in 2021, but the Forza Horizon series has a bigger focus on the open world and arcade-style racing, as opposed to the simulation racing present in the mainline games.
Microsoft’s annual summer press conference, called the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, featured a couple of new trailers from the upcoming Forza Motorsport. The presentation opened with a short gameplay trailer showing off the game, followed by a longer in-engine demo. This demo highlighted all the new features and changes coming in this installment of Forza Motorsport.
The video opens with a high-octane race showing off the beautiful graphics. It states that Turn 10 Studios has completely overhauled the driving experience in Forza Motorsport, including a 48-times improvement in the fidelity of the physics simulation. The camera then pulls back to showcase the impressive graphics, and the video calls it a generational leap in detail and beauty. Time gets advanced multiple times throughout the video to highlight the new dynamic time-of-day system, which will be present on all tracks in Forza Motorsport. The video claims that changes in time of day impact the ambient temperature, which in turn affects the track’s surface.
The following section discusses some of the most requested features of the Forza audience, including a more in-depth car building system. It also features an impressive look at ray-tracing in Forza Motorsport, mentioning that the game uses “real-time ray tracing on track.” Ray tracing is present in other racing games as well, including both Forza Horizon 5 and Gran Turismo 7, but this feature is turned off during gameplay. They only take advantage of ray tracing while viewing cars in the menus, but Forza Motorsport seems to be offering it during races and other events.
This is followed by a brief look at the realistic car damage in Forza Motorsport. The video claims that damage is reproduced down to the individual scratches on the car’s body and supports this by slowing down time to show the incredible amount of detail on a damaged car. The trailer ends with another brief glimpse at the implementation of ray tracing and highlights some of the most significant features coming to Forza Motorsport when it launches next year.
Forza Motorsport is scheduled to release in Spring 2023 on PC and Xbox consoles.