The Next Forza Motorsport Won't Be Current-Gen Only

3.2

Forza Motorsport 8, which is actually just called “Forza Motorsport” after Microsoft decided to stop numbering them after 7, was announced almost two years ago in a one-minute trailer. That trailer showcased beautiful 4K graphics, superb textures, and sublime lighting that only the Xbox Series X could produce. At no point did the trailer even mention the previous-gen Xbox One, leaving us to believe that Forza Motorsport will be for current-gen consoles and modern PC hardware only.

Over the weekend, however, a post to r/gamingleaksandrumors (courtesy of Eurogamer) has thrown doubt at Forza Motorsport being for current-gen only. A pair of images have been authenticated by the subreddit’s moderation team as being pre-release footage captured on an Xbox One back in July last year. The images themselves don’t show much beyond a garage and a team waiting to start racing. It’s the fact these images came from an Xbox One that’s the important part.

Forza Motorsport’s trailer didn’t just feature current-gen graphics. Racing fans got to see the BAC Mono and the Mazda Daytona racers in action alongside the Apollo IE confirmed on the cover. Around the same time, Forza Motorsports creative director confirmed that this latest entry will be a “reimagining of the franchise” with “connection … at the heart of this next generation of Motorsport.”

It seems that next generation will also be on the last generation too. Although Microsoft is quite pleased with the Xbox Series X|S’s performance, even hinting that their console outsold the PS5 over the past two quarters, hardware shortages are still preventing Microsoft from selling as many Xboxes as they’d like. Releasing the next Forza Motorsport on Xbox One seems like an admission that there still aren’t quite enough Xbox Series X|S consoles in the hands of consumers.

In other Forza news, the very first Forza Horizon was very briefly available to buy online yesterday. The Xbox 360 game appeared on the Microsoft Store for a few hours before being removed. Those who were lucky enough to buy it have so far been able to keep the game, which apparently still holds up on modern consoles.