Turn 10’s flagship Xbox and PC racing game returns after six years, with an Oct. 10 release date. We preview the Builders Cup’s introductory cars and tracks.
It’s been six years since the last Forza Motorsport game. The circuit-racing series has been on extended hiatus while the shop was more than ably minded by its knockabout cousin Forza Horizon, an open-world spinoff so exuberant and fun that it became the main event. In the meantime, Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios has been rebuilding its technology for a new hardware generation and reconsidering the structure of its racing action, which spent much of the Xbox One era bogged down in a mess of loot boxes and overdeveloped live-service progression systems.
Even so, you should not expect a complete reinvention from the eighth game, which has been given the reboot-fresh, unnumbered title Forza Motorsport. This is still an iterative series — an iterative genre, really — by default. But, based on a hands-on demo of the opening hour or two of the game’s career mode, it does have a few surprises in store.
As has become racing game tradition, there’s a dramatic curtain-raiser to set the scene, show off the game’s visuals, and feature the “hero cars” of key marketing partners. After six years away, it’s lovely to return to the autumnal sweep of Maple Valley in a 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray — not racing, just vibing. Then, to underline the game’s serious motorsport credentials and demonstrate its dynamic time-of-day system, you’re dropped in the driving seat of a 2023 Cadillac endurance racer for the final laps of a 24-hour race at Hakone, an all-new, fictional Japanese circuit.
With these showcases cleared, the Builders Cup career mode opens up. The introductory series was available to play in the demo: three races in moderately powerful modern road cars. The game lets you choose between a Ford Mustang, Honda Civic Type R, and Subaru STI as your starting set of wheels. The series takes you to Grand Oak Raceway, another fictional Forza staple; Mugello, the famed Ferrari test track; and Kyalami, a real-world South African racetrack that was new to me.
This is all pretty standard, but here comes the first twist. The Turn 10 team has talked about wanting to infuse Forza Motorsport with the shape and drama of actual race weekends, and to that end, it has taken the bold step of making pre-race practice sessions a compulsory part of the experience.
