During the recent Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, Turn 10 Studios finally provided an update on one of Microsoft’s most anticipated first party titles. Having been made to wait over a year for an official update, racing game fans now know that Forza Motorsport is penciled in to launch on PC and Xbox Series X/S during the spring of 2023. Based on everything that the studio has announced so far, it appears as though the franchise's rebooted racer will be worth the wait.
Thanks to the news that broke during Microsoft’s event, the Forza IP in general is set for a big 12 months. Between Playground Games’ Forza Horizon 5's Hot Wheels crossover expansion, and the return of the series’ original formula, there’s going to be plenty of content for racing game fans to savor. Forza Motorsport is arguably the headline act due to the long list of improvements that Turn 10 is bringing to the table, though, and the ways in which the studio is shaking up the iconic Maple Valley Raceway exemplify this the best.
Maple Valley’s Graphical Upgrade
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Out of all the original tracks that have pooped up in the Forza Motorsport franchise throughout its history, a decent case can be made for Maple Valley Raceway being its most iconic. While plenty of other fictional tracks have failed to establish themselves in the minds of the series’ fan base, the fall-themed one that's inspired by New Hampshire has become something of a staple fixture. Having debuted alongside the franchise back in 2005, Maple Valley has featured in every installment, except Forza Motorsport 5 and 6.
It’s easy to see this history being one of the reasons why Turn 10 chose to focus on the track during its recent Forza Motorsport demo. Much like the racetracks of the real-world, which are re-profiled and altered on a regular basis, Maple Valley has undergone a significant facelift ahead of its return to the public eye in 2023. Based on the modern technology that can be found within the Xbox Series X/S, it should come as little surprise to fans that the graphical improvements that have been made to the track are arguably the most obvious change.
Thanks to modern features like 4K visuals and ray-tracing, Maple Valley will look the best it ever has in Forza Motorsport’s 2023 reboot. Turn 10’s decision to implement new rendering and texture technology in particular has had a transformative impact on the graphical fidelity of the track. As the God of War-style single-shot camera the studio utilized in its demo was flying around Maple Valley, there was a sense that everything from the fall-appropriate trees to the tarmac, has taken a step forward in terms of photo-realism.
Maple Valley’s Mechanical Tune-Up
Despite the aforementioned graphical upgrades, from a layout perspective Maple Valley Raceway will still feel familiar to veteran fans in Forza Motorsport 2023. Thanks to the gameplay demo that Turn 10 provided at the Xbox Showcase, it’s clear that drivers still sweep down from the hills onto the track’s pit straight for example, before entering its cambered first right-hander. While there’s been some noticeable off-track additions when it comes to the visual identity of Maple Valley, the driving side of the equation should be mostly the same as a result.
Even though the fundamental basics of driving Maple Valley will feel familiar, several new features have been implemented that should make navigating the track a more dynamic experience. Due to the introduction of a brand-new time of date system in particular, every track in Forza Motorsport will change as time progresses. For the first time in the franchise’s history, players will be able to bask in Maple Valley’s natural beauty at night, for example.
Beyond getting lighter or darker as races go on though, the temperature of Forza Motorsport’s tracks will also fluctuate more realistically too. Turn 10 has seemingly taken inspiration from Codemaster’s recent F1 installments when it comes to realism, as it’s been promised that temperature changes will have a knock-on impact on the amount of grip that’s available. Driving Maple Valley in 2023 should therefore feel more challenging than ever before.
Forza Motorsport is scheduled to release in Spring 2023 on PC and Xbox consoles.