'Forza Motorsport' gets a release date, new gameplay footage

During the Xbox Bethesda Showcase, Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games brought a bunch of “Forza” news. The biggest of which being an actual release date for “Forza Motorsport,” the eighth installment of the racing sim series. More details and gameplay footage of the game also appeared, and can be seen in the videos above and below. But “Forza Horizon 5” also got some love with a new Hot Wheels-themed expansion pack.

You’ll finally be able to play “Forza Motorsport” next spring. And the game boasts some impressive tech to match “Gran Turismo 7.” The game is getting dynamic time of day as well as weather on all courses. Track temperatures vary based on these conditions, which will also affect grip. The game is also getting multiple tire compounds and fuel and tire management. The game can run in 4K and features ray tracing. While not exactly stated, it was implied that ray-tracing will be in effect even during racing, as opposed to being deactivated like in “Gran Turismo 7.”

The demo mostly shows off Maple Valley, a long-time favorite of “Forza” players, but a number of tracks were shown in the trailer. Spa Franchorchamps, Laguna Seca, Kyalami, as well as a couple new original courses. One of which is set in South Africa, and another is in Japan, Circuit Hakone. Turn 10 also released a list of the cars in the trailer, which is shown below.

2018 Acura #36 Gradient Racing NSX GT3
2020 Acura #6 ARX-05 DPi
1958 Aston Martin DBR1
2017 Aston Martin Aston Martin Racing V12 Vantage GT3 #7
2018 Audi #44 R8 LMS GT3
2021 Audi RS e-tron GT
2017 BMW #24 BMW Team RLL M6 GTLM
2018 BMW #1 BMW M Motorsport M8 GTE
2019 Brabham BT62
2021 Cadillac #31 Whelen Racing DPi-V.R
1966 Chaparral #66 Chaparral Cars 2E
1969 Chevrolet Camaro Super Sport Coupe
2020 Chevrolet #3 Corvette Racing C8.R
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupé
1969 Dodge Charger R/T
2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon
1967 Eagle-Weslake T1G
1967 Ferrari #24 Ferrari Spa 330 P4
1966 Ford #2 GT40 Mk II Le Mans
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302
2018 Formula Drift #64 Nissan 370Z
2020 Formula Drift #151 Toyota GR Supra
2019 Ginetta #6 Team LNT Ginetta G60-LT-P1
1967 Honda RA300
2020 Koenigsegg Jesko
2018 Lamborghini #63 Squadra Corse Huracán Super Trofeo Evo
2020 Lamborghini Huracan EVO
1991 Mazda #55 Mazda 787B
1966 McLaren M2B
2019 McLaren Senna GTR
2018 Mercedes-AMG GT3
1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator
2016 NIO EP9
2019 Nissan 370Z Nismo
2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO (R35)
2017 Porsche #911 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR
2021 Porsche 911 GT3

As for “Forza Horizon 5,” its Hot Wheels expansion will be a fun, if somewhat familiar add-on. Like the Hot Wheels expansion for Horizon 3, this new one appears to add a whole new location with multiple environments from jungles to volcanic mountains with open lava flows. It will feature realistic renditions of classic and modern Hot Wheels cars, and it even has a winner from a previous Hot Wheels Legends Tour, the 2 Jet Z. So a real car will have been turned into a Hot Wheels, and then sort of back into a real car, but virtually. What a time to be alive. The expansion launches on July 19, 2022.