Forza Motorsport (2023 video game)

Forza Motorsport is a 2023 sim racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game was released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S on October 10, 2023. It is the thirteenth main installment in the Forza series. Although it is the eighth Forza Motorsport title, succeeding Forza Motorsport 7, it is a reboot for the titular sub-series, dropping the sequential numbering from past entries' titles. The game received generally positive reviews upon release.

Gameplay
Forza Motorsport is a sim racing video game. At launch, Forza Motorsport features more than 500 vehicles and 800 upgrades, as well as 20 newly built tracks. While over 100 of these will be new to the series, many of them will be returning from earlier Forza Motorsport games.

Forza Motorsport includes elements such as ray tracing in real-time on the track, tire wear, dynamic time of day, damage model changes with better-defined damage, paint chipping and dirt buildup. There are other effects, such as "animated track life", "physically based lighting and volumetric fog effects", and "a fully procedural cloud system". The game also includes a single-player career mode and several online multiplayer modes. At launch, Forza Motorsport will have four DLC packs for players. The game features a progression system inspired by role-playing video games. As players progress, they will unlock "Car Points" for each individual vehicle, allowing players to upgrade and alter its performance such as top speed, acceleration, and handling during racing events.

Development and release
Forza Motorsport was first announced at Xbox Showcase in 2020. The Forza Motorsport release date was previously set for 'Spring 2023' but was later moved to a late 2023 launch window. Early access to the game was opened on October 5, 2023 for all Premium Edition and Premium Add-Ons Bundle owners, with the game fully releasing on October 10, 2023. Turn 10 Studios described Forza Motorsport as an "evolving racing platform", meaning that they will support the game by adding new cars and events every month, with new tracks being added at regular intervals.

In an interview with GamesRadar+, Chris Esaki, Creative Director at Turn 10 Studios, emphasized the team's commitment to "pushing the boundaries of realism" in Forza Motorsport, and described the game as the "most technically advanced racing game ever made", using the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles to render higher definition graphics than its predecessors.

Reception
According to review aggregator Metacritic, Forza Motorsport received generally favorable reviews from critics. According to OpenCritic, 84% of 115 critics recommended the game. Community response to the game is more negative, with criticism focused on the multitude of bugs and the game's progression system and general lack of content compared to previous games in the series. On Steam, the game received "mostly negative" reviews from players.

Luke Reilly from IGN described Forza Motorsport as "the best feeling game in the Motorsport franchise to date". While he lamented the new RPG-styled progression system and the lack of split-screen multiplayer, he praised the online multiplayer modes for being the best in the series, and felt that the game had the potential to become "a seriously rich racing destination over the coming years" if Turn 10 continued to support the game with free updates and post-launch content. Writing for GameSpot, Alessandro Barbosa described the game as a "triumphant return for the simulation racing series". Barbosa liked the RPG-like progression system, adding that it provided the most "rewarding" experience in the franchise. While he noticed that the game had fewer cars and tracks than previous games, he nonetheless described it as "a standout simulation racing experience that looks and sounds stunning, while feeling reliably accurate and satisfying on the tarmac". While he felt that the game lacked variety, especially when compared to the Horizon subseries, he wrote that the game was "a resolutely focused circuit-racing game with real-world motorsport leanings".