Forza Motorsport Series Likely Dead After Microsoft Layoffs, While Horizon Lives On
Posted by hi_im_bored13@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 119 comments
rixonian@reddit
This game or Gran Turismo?
Pro-editor-1105@reddit
Go to the pinned top post in r/forza. Literally it says, nothing is confirmed, and there is no official news. This was from a turn 10 employee who left 10 years ago.
AwardImmediate720@reddit
On the other hand the latest Forza Motorsport seems to have been a bit of a flop. So with Micro$oft cutting everything that isn't absurdly profitable from their game roster I can believe it.
RichardNixon345@reddit
Turns out bragging how it's built from the ground up and then launching it with 20% of the features 7 had, and half of those not working, was a bad thing.
Who knew?
Thefrayedends@reddit
I was so gung-ho for FM, and it was a amateur hour piece of shit. I haven't looked at it since. Refunded. Sorry not sorry. Don't release unfinished fucking games. And yes I understand it's not really the devs fault, I always feel bad for people getting laid off/terminated.
Big business publishers need to learn that delaying games to release them in a good state is more important than hitting a release date. I am not going to keep giving my money to companies that don't respect my time and what I paid them.
SubMikeD@reddit
I was excited when they announced a big update to the tire model would be part of the game.
Then I saw the damage model that they bragged about, and realized they had no idea what they were doing (nothing like paint scraping off the side of body panels to show bare metal....on a car with carbon fiber body panels).
While there are a ton of issues regarding unfinished games that are a problem, FM real problem is that they didn't seem to have anyone on the staff who understood motorsports or cars at all.
SubMikeD@reddit
...car assets from the 2005 Forza Motorsport 1, which were incorrect assets then and still are....
was a bad thing.
cubs223425@reddit
It wasn't just a content/feature issue. When they said "built from the ground up," they didn't put on the asterisk that clarified "with the same assets we've had for 20 years, even on cars that are modeled incorrectly."
There were some who posted examples repeatedly post-launch. In one of the most egregious examples, there was a car that has been in the games since the original, and it's got the same design inaccuracies that the car had when it was featured in the first title. They did not update the assets or fully remodel things, quite clearly.
fmjintervention@reddit
The infamous Forza S15 model is so bad to the point that it's become a meme/running joke. It's an old Xbox 360 era model that is still used to this day.
YellowFogLights@reddit
You’d think Microsoft after calling Slipspace “built from the ground up” for Halo Infinite. Then it turned out to be Blam! in a different hat.
KingMario05@reddit
You must be new here, lol.
YellowFogLights@reddit
Oh don’t worry, it’s dripping in sarcasm
TheCountChonkula@reddit
Forza 5 has a similar problem being an early Xbox One game, but at least I felt they were able to turn it around with 6 and 7.
Fortunately I ended up playing FM2023 it on Gamepass rather than actually buying it. I stopped playing after a couple days with how empty it felt to FM7 plus the vehicle progression was awful and felt like the game would punish you if you want to try different cars. It was really disappointing because I was actually looking forward to it since I personally prefer Motorsport over Horizon and the was the first Motorsport entry in 6 years.
cubs223425@reddit
FM5's issues bothered me greatly, but they made sense. The game was notably better to play than FM4 on the 360 (especially with the XB1's rumble triggers and improved sticks).
Most importantly though, FM5 came out 2 years after FM4. This latest title came out 6 years after its predecessor, which is 3 times the dev time any other title in the franchise had previously been afforded. To eventually bring a game that was very buggy, visually downgraded badly from the trailers, and not even at parity with the last game? No one could rationalize that.
Bladechildx@reddit
What's funny is it's currently in it's best state imo. I recently picked it up again after not playing for over a year and after my friends heard me not talk shit about the game for once and because it's half off because of the Steam Summer Sale four of them ended up buying it.
The only genuine complaints I have with the game now is the AI and the timed races not working how they should. Otherwise it's a solid game to play at it's current sale price or through gamepass.
EhRanders@reddit
Bad AI kills the single player experience though and what do they think was feeding public multiplayer? It’s maybe forgivable when only playing privately with friends, but competent AI in a grind oriented racing game series is make or break.
The 2023 entry of a game series designed to take on Gran Turismo should have better AI than PS2 deep cuts like 2004’s Saturday Night Speedway from a 60 person Australian dev team.
ericgallant24@reddit
yup, it didn’t hit like they hoped. Wouldn’t be surprised if they shelve it for a while.
Skodakenner@reddit
Wasnt surprising though they never made any effort with it so noone cared about it
fastheadcrab@reddit
They cut half of their studio, that together with the broader Xbox layoffs is established fact. Regardless of whether this is confirmed yet, it does not bode well for the future of the franchise. Something will half to go
dumahim@reddit
I'd guess the only reason there's anyone left is to continue with updates for FM, be support for FH updates, engine updates and/or car and track scanning.
SubMikeD@reddit
They used assets that were wrong in 2005 for the most recent 8th Motorsport game, resulting in cars that still aren't correct 20 years later. They aren't scanning new cars.
ShortBrownAndUgly@reddit
Car and track scanning? Doubtful. I think the game will get some maintenance updates and they’ll continue to make events and rotate MP races and that’s it. If we’re lucky, they might release cars and tracks that were already nearly finished
dumahim@reddit
Probably not tracks anymore since no new FM, but T10 and Playground shared car models, so they could certainly continue working car scans.
Elderbrute@reddit
Studios cut huge volumes of personel between projects all the time.
But I think probably the writing is on all wall for motorsport they spent a lot on a game that flopped and rather than learning the right lessons like make the game enjoyable to play and not a buggy mess they decided people don't want motorsport.
Capt-Crap1corn@reddit
Damn that's sad
Dr_Yttrium@reddit
What ppl don't understand is if another game was released it would have been shit like everything else they've been putting out lately. firing and rehiring literally everyone seems like a great way to bring these franchises back, like Halo included
RunninOnMT@reddit
Good old Fred Russell. He went on to become the custodian of Jon Shirley's car collection, regularly driving a lot of the cars that were used as models in the game.
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
Every single article on the topic is really underselling this guy
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
Yes its not official, as I mentioned in my comment above, but a. it is pretty clear the latest iteration of motorsports was a flop, b. the studio is not healthy, c. Fred Russell is the caretaker for Jon Shirley’s car collection, and not just any turn 10 employee
Vhozite@reddit
Forza Motorsport 4 >>>>
Legend13CNS@reddit
Up until FM4 and FH1 the games felt like they were developed by car enthusiasts making a video game. Everything after that felt more and more like generic developers making a game that happened to involve cars.
We can argue until we're blue in the face if Gran Turismo also fell off after 4, or if iRacing is losing their touch, but it's still clear the passion is there. Both sides of the Forza coin lost it trying to churn out games so quickly with a revolving door of contractor devs.
Lucreth2@reddit
I'll die on the hill that FH5 is technologically the best horizon but subjectively the worst. It feels completely lacking in any excitement and passion. It's hard to put a finger on it beyond it just not being as much fun but in my opinion that's what happens when you lack that passion. Even or perhaps most notably the hot wheels expansion somehow came off as terribly boring to me to the point where I avoided it as much as possible.
I don't know maybe I just don't like driving in Mexico but I'll still die on the hill regardless. Even the highway sections in other games were more fun than the 10 lane snoozefest of FH5.
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
I think it's pretty clear they designed the world around their battle royale mode with the single player career shoehorned in
inaccurateTempedesc@reddit
Kinda funny how both Gran Turismo and Forza peak at 4
davej999@reddit
around that time was kinda the peak for racing games in general too
Microsoft also had the project gotham racing games which were great fun
Lucreth2@reddit
Off the top of my head didn't need for speed kind of peak around GT3-GT4 as well? Underground 1-2 and most wanted? HP2 early in gt3?
Marshall_Lawson@reddit
most game series peak at 4
ft4200@reddit
Project Gotham Racing peaked at 4... because the series was killed off after it
Burnout Revenge was the 4th Burnout game and could debatably be the best
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
There's also a notable drop from GT6 onwards, which much like FM4 was the end of the 7th generation
ZaheerAlGhul@reddit
Mt Fujimi Kaido was the best track!
Ghost1k25@reddit
It’s back as of a 2 months ago and it’s wonderful
ZaheerAlGhul@reddit
It looks great!!! We really need a Horizon game set in Japan.
Randromeda2172@reddit
Fujimi Kaido with an AE86 was peak
the4ner@reddit
Still have a replay saved on fm1
TFiPW@reddit
I just wanna race and modify econoboxes again. I don't care about race cars, I wanna see how fast a fiesta can go and how poorly a rear engine, front-bias AWD car handles.
Ghost1k25@reddit
You can still do that lol. And there is a modern Fujimi Kaido now.
the4ner@reddit
Automation + beam.ng drive
Csalbertcs@reddit
6 and 7 were really good too, 5 and 8 were trash.
cubs223425@reddit
6 was a very good game, IMO. The rumble triggers on the XB1 were a great addition, wet weather racing was great, and bringing in F1 cars was a worthwhile addition.
opkraut@reddit
The "Endangered Species" ad with Jeremy Clarkson narrating it still gives me goosebumps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Uc1n4ng9Nk
Sharpfeaturedman@reddit
3 was really good, too
XDingoX83@reddit
The opening for Forza MS4 was the best.
Firearms_N_Freedom@reddit
i think video games peaked
eze6793@reddit
Bring back PGR!
davej999@reddit
bring back metropolis street racer !
NabroleanBronaparte@reddit
Doubt it
DonkeyFuel@reddit
Would not have expected to see FM be dead in this era. What a pity. All that time and money...
Vhozite@reddit
I would. Series has slowly been getting worse in years while Horizon gets more and more popular.
Ghost1k25@reddit
Horizon is also still getting worse unfortunately.
DonkeyFuel@reddit
Sure, but if you had asked me years ago, would I expect FM to die and be wasted (wasted away like this), would've definitely said "no way." What a waste.
kc_kr@reddit
If only they could sell all their cars and tracks that Gran Turismo lacks to Polyphony… I just want Road America in GT finally.
Lord_Ka1n@reddit
Nobody wanted Forza Motorsport turned into an online only live service game.
Dazzling-Rooster2103@reddit
I guess for me Forza Motorsport was always a weird middle ground between Horizon, and real Sim racers like IRacing or Assetto Corsa.
It isn't realistic enough to be a true sim racer, but it isn't goofy enough to be like Horizon.
If i am feeling like playing a game I would just pick one side or the other.
mettaxa@reddit
I wish Forza Motorsport or Gran turismo had a fun immersive single player mode - even if it was something corny. A midnight club type story in the granturismo engine would be awesome.
KingMario05@reddit
Fuck it, Rockstar and Polyphony should collaborate on an open-world Midnight Club launch title for the PS6 and PC. They never will, because GTA VI, but I sure wish they would.
mettaxa@reddit
That would be awesome. Too bad triple A games take 10+ years to make these days.
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
My only issues with horizon are that
there isn't a proper sense of progression/career (fm4, gt1, etc. start you off with proper shitboxes, the newest horizon gives you a c8 pretty quickly)
there aren't any courses to learn, sure there is an online/competitive mode to it, but there are so many courses and layouts with so few barriers that you don't ever need to memorize the track, qualify, etc.
the roster of cars is oriented very strongly towards midrange road cars and supercars. you have the occasional GT or concepts like the ID.R but no full prototype + gte/gt3 + formula roster like motorsports and GT do in parts
iRacing, AC, etc. are all fun and all but there is little to no single player content or career and I don't feel like arguing with kids on turn 1 or paying up hundreds and sinking in thousands of hours to race multiclass at any competitive level
If they added a few elements from motorsports into horizon and just add a little more progression I'd be pretty happy
mangoagogo6@reddit
To your first point, the point of Horizon is not to start with a bad car and having to play for hours to get a good one. The entire game is designed around racing with whatever you feel like and to actually get better at driving as you go. The progression comes from you racing on higher difficulties with fewer and fewer assists. The career goal–other than to have fun completing every event (and there are a ton of them) and climbing time trial leaderboards is to obtain all 900 cars, some of which are really difficult to get because they're only available from completing certain events at certain times.
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
That's 100% artificial scarcity though
Precisely none of the cars are DIFFICULT to obtain if you have a lot of money and time, there's very limited skill involved
mangoagogo6@reddit
Correct, the first objective is to complete all the events with whatever your favorite car is and to have fun. If you have unlimited money of course you can buy everything but where’s the fun in that? I don’t see what the issue here is haha.
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
Because having a legitimate challenge is a good thing. FH5 doesn't drive you to improve, there's zero incentive to do so. Hell, the weekly races are locked in difficulty, so even if you want to challenge yourself you can't without choosing to deliberately use a bad setup.
It's not impossible to have a challenge and also allow people to pay past that challenge: the unicorn cars in older games were a good example of this. You could win them, or if you didn't, you can buy them in the AH for a gazillion dollars. I don't want content gatekept behind obscene skill walls, but I do want difficult challenges (some harder time trials for example) that can't be brute forced through crashing AI or a good setup.
mangoagogo6@reddit
Ok in that case I suggest you do not play the game.
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
I've beaten every race in the game, bought both DLCs and collected every car I actually wanted: I think I'm allowed to say it has flaws without being told "don't play then". Especially as both Horizon and Motorsport have moved away from single-player difficulty: there isn't another game I can go play.
dumahim@reddit
I mean, there's no permanent tracks, but there are set courses all over the places used for traditional races. Both closed track and point to point.
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
Yeah, but thats the issue. There are hundreds of set courses, combined with hundreds of cars bound loosely by class, no specific racing series, and there is little to no penalty for going off the course so you don't need to focus on the line anywhere near as much.
As opposed to something like motorsports, iracing, gt, ac, etc. where you are racing against several cars in the same class, around a few properly laid out and guarded circuits.
Sure you can memorize each of those horizon courses if you'd like to with a car of choice but there is close to zero incentive to do so.
Karmaqqt@reddit
It’s the perfect game to just get in a car and drive imo. I love it for that.
VT_Racer@reddit
Simcade. Thats what I've always considered GT and Forza anyway.
durrtyurr@reddit
At the end of the day I own a shitload of cars, I also own a nintendo. If I want to prove that I'm a better driver than my friends I'll just smoke them at Mario Kart.
throwawayhash43@reddit
Barrier to entry is low for Forza though compared to the others. Playing with just a controller works well enough in Forza and I personally always enjoyed jumping straight into a race rather than aimlessly driving around.
aftonone@reddit
Thank god. For a game that troes to take itself seriously it is the most unserious horrific terrible game I’ve ever played. Awful sounds, can’t hide steering wheel, 90° steering lock, shitty graphics. Just awful.
Not even ragebaiting I just couldn’t take it. Went back to AMS2 and AC instantly
Tangerine_Whisperer@reddit
In my opinion Horizon can kind of have the content of Motorsport in it and much much more which Horizon already has. The Horizon games are pretty good and seem like a natural evolution of Forza
R_V_Z@reddit
I don't know, I found the racing kind of tedious. There's so many catch-up mechanics that Aloy can be in the lead the whole time just to take an arrow that slows her down to lose.
cubs223425@reddit
Forza Motorsport had so many things going against it. The first failure with this game was the development time. Instead of 2 years, the game took 6 years, which most would see as an obvious red flag. Given Forza titles get delisted for sale after 4 years because of expiring car licenses, having a 2-year gap where Xbox has NO Forza Motorsport to sell doesn't make things better.
Once the game finally launched, it had loads of problems. Replays didn't work and several in-game issues occurred here and there. People who played a lot of racing games (Forza and otherwise) cited nearly everything as a point of criticism--tire and suspension tweaks did not follow expected behavior, racing wheel support and tuning was atrocious, and the overall feel of the game didn't align with basically anyone's preferences.
Visuals were also majorly downgraded from what trailers showed. The ray tracing was mediocre and heavily supplemented by traditional lighting techniques, so far short of promises. A game "built from the ground up for next gen" turned out to be reusing assets from as old as the original game. Cars that were modeled incorrectly 20+ years ago had the same inaccuracies. They couldn't even bother to do something like adding updated manufacturer paint colors for existing cars.
IMO, the biggest problem they faced is Playground Games. That's not a "Horizon > Motorsport" point. The problem is that Microsoft's acquisition of Playground came with giving them the Fable franchise. For some reason, they decided to revive this open-world RPG franchise in the Forza engine. That left Turn 10, who makes the engine, to massively overhaul their dev tools to support a franchise and genre that it had no experience with. Perhaps without coincidence, that game was delayed another year back in the spring, and is still not due out until 2026 (8 years after Playground joined Xbox officially).
Anyone who cares can look up the horror stories of how Mass Effect Andromeda was hindered by EA's insistence that they make their RPG in Frostbite, DICE's FPS-oriented engine built for Battlefield (EA's Rory McIlroy PGA game also had these issues). Forza Motorsport probably suffered as Turn 10 had to support Fable's engine needs, but 6 years also should have been sufficient to make a game in a franchise that usually put out games in one-third of the time. Now, it sounds highly likely the franchise has no path to new game releases. Those who still work at Turn 10 are probably mostly engine devs supporting the next Horizon release (which Xbox said would happen next year) and the completion of Fable.
karankshah@reddit
Disappointing news - while I don't think that the latest iterations of Forza have been as good as the earlier ones, it was Forza that I learned to play any simulator like game in. In particular, I'd credit FM4 and simulation steering. While I don't think that FM was ever really comparable to GT, it was my entry point, and in a universe where most families can't afford to buy every console for their kids, there will not be a sim-lite title for families with no PS console.
The reality is that while GT has been able to build on a real passion for cars and extend that into great online competitive play, FM has always been a me-too product: a few novel ideas but nothing nearly enough to scale to GT's size.
Pair that with the fact that Horizon has been peeling away at FM's user base with a more spectacle-heavy title, and it's easy to see that the writing was on the wall.
DaveCootchie@reddit
Don't worry Forza will be back as a FTP game with even more microtransactions, even more emotes and even more costumes! Oh then a worse sound track cause they don't want to license more that 12 songs for the stations.
RichardNixon345@reddit
They already tried the F2P thing and it bombed.
cubs223425@reddit
When?
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
It is live service and available as part of their gamepass subscription, but its not F2P quite yet
RichardNixon345@reddit
No, I mean they had an actual F2P game. It was called Forza Street.
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
Wow, didn't even know that was a thing, probably for good reason. My bad!
Master-Mission-2954@reddit
I think history will call this the correct move, even if my nostalgia is hurt by it. Complete access to track AND street driving, especially as VR gets more and more serious as an actual gaming route, shows Horizon to have a crazy profitable future. Could you imagine, one day Horizon and GTA competing? Mayhe
KingMario05@reddit
But in terms of beating GT7, what else is out there? Need for Speed is also on hiatus, so no ProStreet.
SUPREMACY_SAD_AI@reddit
GTA is just going to become life simulator
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
This is slightly off-topic, but I'd wager racing titles like gran turismo and the like were a catalyst for quite a few enthusiasts, and its a shame to see their single largest competitor sunset 20 years on
woodsides@reddit
What's the USP for Forza Motorsport now that iRacing and Assetto Corsa and AC Evo are so good with a wide selection of cars? You either go full arcade racer with Asphalt or go to AC or IR. Not to mention, the modding community is top notch there.
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
Same as Gran Turismo, mainly accessibility. Controller friendly, cheap relative to iRacing, with a significantly larger car roster than AC Evo. It also has a decent single-player career for the time being.
But no doubt, they bunged up and it is far behind horizon and its competitors. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think its been any good since motorsports 4.
Vhozite@reddit
Career mode is the key to me in these games. Start with some shitbox hatch or 50+ year old muscle car and work up to a 458 Italia.
So many of these games miss that mark. It might be better now but I dropped GT7 because within 2 hours I had like $1 million dollars and half a dozen cars.
It’s to the point I’ve considered emulating FM4
Taylorheat231@reddit
I don’t remember the last time a racing game had a gradual upgrade process. I miss the good ole days of Forza 1 or GT3 where even the ability to buy certain cars had a prerequisite challenge associated. It took me forever as a kid to finally drive the 787b.
I can’t stand the Forza Horizon series because it’s too formulaic. I wish they could do a flip and do more of a career focused street racing vibe. Start from someone racing shitboxes to super cars. I’m so over the festivals
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
The issue is during and after the 7th gen of console (360, ps3, etc.) online really took off, it was clear the money was all on multiplayer, so single-player/career took a massive back seat, alongside local co-op/splitscreen.
But on top of that you can't make money if your players don't feel competitive. And they can't be competitive against the regulars in GT3's with their D class yaris shitbox. So they just give everyone a shitbox at the start.
If you want a proper sense of career, the only way is to replay GT4, Motorsports 4, PGR 3/4, or any of the arcade games from that era.
Ph1sic@reddit
Unlike Gran Turismo, Forza (Motorsport) has made no substantial progress over the last 3 iterations. Gran Turismo basically reinvented itself after GT6 came out by developing an all new graphics and game engine platform for Gran Turismo Sport that was continuously and noticably improved in many ways over the years. It certainly isnt perfect, but it feels extremely polished.
Forza saw its peak with Forza Motorsport 4 which many consider the most complete installment out of the entire series. Their next game however turned the once successful franchise into what can be considered a graphics showcase for the release of the xbox one, slashing many popular features from previous titles while simultaneously offering horrible performance and an overall very unsatisfying experience.
Despite what Microsoft and Turn 10 studios say about their current installment being developed "from the ground up", it is nothing more than another version of the same game that has existed for over 10 years, including the same issues and bugs that have existed in previous titles. It even includes models of cars that were almost 20 years old when the game came out (mind you the early access version was 100$).
It is completely mindblowing to me how the industry’s biggest publisher has managed to develop a game with this many fundamental flaws, and I feel bad for the developers and creators that have to suffer from this management failure.
RunninOnMT@reddit
For me, it's two things:
The cars are all made by the same group of people and are standardized, which you cant have if you add cars via mods. There are also slower cars i might drive someday in the game instead of just race cars or 500+ hp supercars.
You can modify the cars via aftermarket parts. I don't think Assetto or iRacing let you substantially change power level/weight/transmission etc. BeamNG maybe does it better than Forza or GT, but then you have to deal with unlicensed cars etc.
The other side of things is that i'm not that interested in competitively racing online so a lot of the features in AC or iRacing aren't a huge sell for me. I just want good tracks, lots of cars and good physics.
Car-face@reddit
This was the big appeal for me, and for the Gran Turismo series since the first one - the first car you get access to was a Mazda 121, and something like an NA Silvia or an FTO was a reasonable upgrade from there, which could in turn be turned into something faster.
It's evolved to include higher performance and a large roster of actual race cars, and a massive "organised" competitive featureset at the higher level, but it still retains that "neighborhood race series" feel that few, if any, other sim racers focus on.
In terms of being an actual simulator in the most literal sense, BeamNG seems to do it better than anyone - sure, iRacing might offer a better simulation of performance at the limit on an oval, but BeamNG accurately represents what happens when you fall off the road into a ditch at 90mph, which is a significantly more likely scenario for most people.
RunninOnMT@reddit
Exactly!! I still vividly remember being a kid and seeing a postage stamp screen shot of an upcoming racing game called Gran Turismo in gamepro magazine.
What had me geeked (even as a 13 year old) was that the screenshot had an Acura Integra in it. Not a Ferrari! Not a lambo! Not even an NSX or a Supra! An integra!!!
I wasn’t even a Honda fan but all I could think about for basically the next six months was how cool it was that there was a racing game that let me race something as accessible as a $25k Honda.
srtftw@reddit
Build two sim-setups for Xbox side-by-side to race with friends (online) locally. We strictly play F1 and occasionally Forza Horizon. The Motorsport series fell away after FM7.
XSC@reddit
GT is why I became an enthusiast
Maximilianne@reddit
I lack the philosophical sophistication to fully articulate my views but here goes: there is something that profoundly changed about how we experience or consume or perceive video games (specifically when playing them) , that has rendered alot of traditional IPs and their core gameplay loops/design almost irrelevant or not popular in our modern age. If I may so bold, if something like Runescape or Wow never existed and then existed in this year, the experience would not be the same as it was back in the old days, and probably could never be the same. Similarily there is probably something about our modern society that makes games with the traditional Forza or Gran turismo not as appealing as they were back in the day.
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
The change was the launch of online services alongside significantly improved processing and storage that enabled multiplayer open worlds, around the time of 7th gen consoles bleeding into 8th. GT4->GT5 but specifically GT Sport, FM4->FM5, etc.
hundredjono@reddit
The last Forza Motorsport worth playing was Forza Motorsport 4
runbrap@reddit
True that dude. I miss those drift lobbies :( If only I could play it on PC or steam deck I'd be so fucking happy.
Vhozite@reddit
For me it was virus tag on the Top Gear test track.
runbrap@reddit
Oh shit that was so fun. Or doing late night split screen drift down Fujimi with my brother 🥹
smackythefrog@reddit
MS better tickle Sony's sack or something and get Gran Turismo on Xbox.
THE_GR8_MIKE@reddit
I waited 7 years for Forza 8 to come out. It is, without a doubt, one of the biggest gaming letdowns of my entire life. Even still after the recent big update (2 years later) it's maybe where it should have been at launch.
V8-Turbo-Hybrid@reddit
Now, I don't wonder why I didn't see their sponsors in Le Mans race this year.
Is it another change for Microsoft right ? I remember their first race game was Project Gothem Racing series before Forza came out.
LordBlackass@reddit
PGR2.my 2nd favourite race behind GT. They got the drifting just right.
hi_im_bored13@reddit (OP)
PGR was published under microsoft studios and they own the IP, but the devs (Bizarre Creations) were bought out by Activision. I think the Horizon devs intended to reboot it at some point but were turned down
But I do agree, its one of my favorite titles for the 360
UndeadWaffle12@reddit
Honestly, it’s about time. The only reason to play Motorsport was because it was the only mainstream racing sim-like game on Xbox. Pc players have many better alternatives and PlayStation players have gran turismo, Xbox console sales are not doing well, so who’s playing forza Motorsport? Forza Horizon on the other hand is much more unique and has a large playerbase on pc and even PlayStation now that they released it on ps5. They should be putting all their resources into horizon
sturat18@reddit
Forza’s latest entry was a dud. GT7 was just the better product in that space, although Forza had some great ideas. Not surprising, imo.
Pseudonym_741@reddit
Forza peaked at FM3 anyways. I still remember swapping the engine from a stock car into a Camaro IROC-Z and just decimating Ferraris and Audi R8s with it.