Turn 10 Studios is sharing more details about Forza Motorsport as we get closer to launch. In the recent Forza Monthly stream on Twitch, Forza creative director Chris Esaki revealed that the racing simulator will include a new Featured Multiplayer experience, Private Multiplayer, and Rivals.
According to the studio, the multiplayer mode “set delivers clean and competitive racing and provides a robust foundation for you to set up the racing you and your friends want.” The different modes will allow you to tailor the experience as you see fit.
Featured Multiplayer will be a live mode of pre-defined events based on real-world time. Turn 10 said that the mode will feel like a real race weekend, starting at specific dates and times. Events will be based on car divisions such as GT, LMP1, and Touring cars and will feature Open Practice and Qualifying sessions.
The events will also be divided into Open and Spec series events. In the Open Series, racers can bring any car they want that meets class restrictions. The Spec Series will feature identical cars that have been tuned by the developers to ensure an even playing field.
Forza Motorsport will also be featuring Private Multiplayer where players can host races for friends. These private lobbies are not affected by Safety or Driver ratings and results will not affect overall ratings – this gives players leeway to have fun with settings and rules.
In the Rivals multiplayer mode, racers can push themselves to get the best possible time given a car and track combination. Time Attack will be the only event available at launch. In the event, players can build their own race cars and attempt to set the best possible lap times.
There are a few multiplayer features from previous titles that are not coming to Forza Motorsport. Split-screen multiplayer is one of those features that will be missing from the upcoming racing simulator. According to Esaki, the studio’s “heavy investment” in graphics and rendering engine is the reason the feature is not present in Forza Motorsport.
(FYI) Unfortunately, #ForzaMotorsport has three legacy features that won't be ready for launch
– Spectator mode
– Racing with Ai in featured multiplayer
– Splitscreen pic.twitter.com/4YCPf9TWes— Idle Sloth💙💛 (@IdleSloth84_) August 11, 2023
“[It] unfortunately made split-screen really difficult to implement, and is also not going to be in for launch,” Esaki said. The multiplayer modes will also not be featuring spectator mode and AI racers. According to Esaki, these features go against the studio’s goal for the game.
“Having players come into a featured multiplayer event and taking player slots, and then spectating? It’s not really the racing we had intended,” he said. “Similarly, racing with AI in featured multiplayer with all its potential impacts on your safety rating also didn’t make a whole lot of sense to have and is not going to be available for us at launch.”
It is unclear if the features will be added post-launch. We will keep you updated on the developments regarding the multiplayer features. Forza Motorsport is coming to PC and Xbox Series X/S on October 10, 2023.
