JUNE
There would be travel. There would be French food. There would be racing all day and into the night. There would be champagne. There would be ForzaRC racers on the podium at the world’s greatest endurance race.
But before we got to Le Mans – before we could make esports history with the Forza Racing Championship Season 3 Grand Finals – there was the biggest gaming event of the year: E3 2017.
As you might expect, Forza Motorsport 7 was front and center at E3 – most notably at the top of the 2017 Xbox Press Briefing. This was the world’s first look at the 4K-native Forza Motorsport 7 featuring the most secretive car in Forza/E3 history – the Porsche 911 GT2 RS, aka the fastest road-going 911 of all time. This was a first for both Porsche and Forza (and E3, for that matter!) – the first time a car was revealed to the world on stage at a major gaming event.
video: Forza Motorsport 7 E3 2017 Announce Trailer
And what a car! Not only did the 911 GT2 RS look fantastic on stage, it also proved to be an incredible car to drive in Forza Motorsport 7. Lucky E3 attendees got their first cockpit time in the GT2 RS – whether braving the long lines to try out the simulator sled at the Xbox Booth, or going behind closed doors to go in-depth on Forza 7.
Not days after the unveil of Forza Motorsport 7, we made esports history with the Season 3 Grand Finals of the Forza Racing Championship. More than 50 of the fastest racers in the world converged to crown the Season 3 champion in France. But not just anywhere in France: we’re talking Le Mans. As in the home of the most coveted endurance race in the world – the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
To say it was the biggest race we’ve ever hosted is an understatement. Not only was it the biggest, it was also one of the longest. Just as the drivers were testing the limits of their endurance on the real track outside the Forza Racing Championship tent, the ForzaRC drivers were pushing themselves to the brink of exhaustion and beyond in the Season 3 Grand Finals. In the end a surprise winner – AMS Roadrunner – claimed the crown, stealing the spotlight from ForzaRC favorites and earning the right to step upon the top step at the Le Mans podium as our Season 3 champion.
JULY
In terms of new information, summer time is typically the best time for Forza fans. After all, it’s that open spot between E3 and launch where players can really dive deep into the features and content they care about. In July, we began the gargantuan task of revealing the massive car list found in Forza Motorsport 7. The series started off with a bang: with the complete list of all Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche models found in the game, along with numerous other performance car models. Over the rest of July, we’d unveil nearly all of the 700+ cars in the game, with weekly Forza Garage themes like vintage cars, American muscle, a huge list of race cars and Forza Edition cars that continue to be fan favorites in Forza 7.
At the end of July, we broadcast the Forza Racing Championship ChinaJoy Invitational, marking the ForzaRC’s Asian debut. After several weeks of qualifying, 16 of the best Forza Motorsport 6 drivers in mainland China converged at ChinaJoy 2017 to compete live for the inaugural championship. Congratulations go to champion ChicPizza, who dominated the racing from the started and who has earned automatic entry into a future ForzaRC event as a result.
AUGUST
We kicked off August with a royal surprise – a new addition to the world of Forza Horizon 3 in the form of the Final Fantasy Regalia. The ride of choice for Prince Noctis and his crew – and one of the largest cars ever seen in a Forza game – arrived in late July, free for all Forza Horizon 3 players and for Final Fantasy XV players too. Luxury, power, and that royal touch make the Regalia the ultimate cruiser in Forza Horizon 3. Don’t believe us? Check out the trailer again:
The Regalia wasn’t the only new car in Forza Horizon 3. The Hoonigan Car Pack was launched for Forza Horizon 3 – featuring a bunch of cars straight from the Hoonigan Garage and into Horizon 3’s Australia. But not just Forza Horizon 3 – pre-ordering the digital version of Forza 7 also netted fans a similar Hoonigan pack of cars in Forza Motorsport 7. In other words, buy once, hoon twice! If you missed our Easter egg-filled trailer for Hoonigan, relive it again here:
Also in August: Gamescom! The largest gaming event in Europe arrived in Cologne, Germany and, with it, around 300,000 fans from all over the continent, eager to take in the sites and sounds of the massive Kölnmesse (where Gamescom takes place) and to get their hands on all the games on display. Naturally, it wouldn’t be a Gamescom without Xbox, and without a new Forza game to check out as well. Forza Motorsport 7 showed up in a big way at the Xbox booth, alongside our cover car: the Porsche 911 GT2 RS. Thousands of fans could watch and play the game over the week and we were pleased to take home the Gamescom “Best Racing Game” award from the show.
SEPTEMBER
In September, we put the foot on the gas for Forza Motorsport 7. This was the month that saw the game go gold, the release of the Forza 7 demo, and the early access launch of Forza Motorsport 7 on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. So, yeah, it was a crazy month.
Before we got to all of that, however, the top of the month saw things like the final week of car reveals in the Forza Garage, featuring race cars and more that were part of the 700±strong roster of cars in the game. A week later, we saw our Gone Gold announcement – and the news of the September 19 demo for Forza 7. And the release of our Forza 7 commercial, “Musical Cars”:
video: Forza Motorsport 7 Official Commercial
The second week of September was also special for Turn 10 for a very different reason. After months of waiting, T10 studio manager Alan Hartman took delivery of his Ford GT at Forza HQ.
video: Ford GT at Turn 10 - Part 4: Delivery Day
With the weather being what it is in Seattle, the next time Alan’s Ford GT sees any significant action will likely be in spring at the earliest.
As we neared the mid-point of September, and closer to the release of the game, we started seeing more and more sightings of Forza 7 in the wild, like this episode of Donut Garage’s Daily Transmission featuring the Twerkstallion and the game in the same episode:
video: Hoonigan Daily Transmission: Twerkstallion Update and Forza 7 tease
A brand new Forza game means new systems and features to get use to. One of the biggest changes introduced for racing fans in Forza 7 has been the new homologation system. Homologation is here to stay in Forza 7, which is why we dedicated a huge chunk of a Week in Review edition to explaining how it works. That same edition also featured details on the new Forza Rewards setup, as well as the brand new Driver Gear racing suits that players could earn depending on their Forza Rewards Tier level.
One day before the game launched into early access, we got a chance to show off Forza 7 from Forza HQ in our very special livestream debut. In addition to playing the game all day and into the evening, we welcomed special guests from all around Turn 10, including familiar faces, as well as new guests.
Not long after that, Ultimate Edition owners got to check out the full game for themselves, four days earlier than the rest of the world. Early access is awesome for players and it also meant that we had eager players ready to play with us during our Forza Motorsport 7 Launch Livestream on September 30. Held at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, the livestream gave us a chance to show off the new game, and hang out with the likes of Major Nelson, Tanner Foust, and 2017 IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden, among other guests.
OCTOBER
On October 3, Forza Motorsport 7 released! Players from all over the world got to check out the game for the very first time. From the very start, everyone at Turn 10 had their ear to the ground, watching and listening to see what players were talking about. It’s something we take very seriously here – listening to the fans, trying to help with issues that players experience, and doing our best to make Forza games the best they can be.
That’s why, on October 3, we also published a letter from studio manager Alan Hartman. The letter focused on a number of hot issues in the Forza community at the time, including Forza 7 VIP implementation, as well as performance and stability for PC players. In that letter, we made a commitment to release an update to VIP rewards, which went live three weeks later, offering a permanent 2X credit bonus after every race (which we added to the game in October). In addition, we pledged to keep working on PC stability and performance, which we’ve done in the form of several updates designed to improve PC performance on a wide variety of setups. That work will continue in 2018 and beyond, as we continue to focus on making the Forza experience great for everyone, regardless of where they like to play.
October saw us kick off a new series of Bounty Hunter events in Forza Motorsport 7 and we did so in championship style, with IndyCar champ Josef Newgarden serving as our inaugural Forza 7 bounty. You might know Josef for his skill on the track but did you know that he’s also a dyed-in-the-wool Forza fanatic? Having played the game since Forza Motorsport 2, Josef is a natural and he put his skills to the test, giving even top Forza Motorsport players a run for their Rivals money.
Launch month being one of the busiest times of the year for Forza, we had lots going on beyond working on the game, including giveaways with Foot Locker, Hoonigan and Alienware, as well as a custom Renault F1-themed Xbox One S. In addition, Xbox held a special livestream with actor Will Arnett and his friends, playing Forza 7 with our own RBW Triton joining them on the couch.
NOVEMBER
It’s not often you launch the same game twice in a year but, in November, that’s just what Forza did with the release of Forza Motorsport 7 on Xbox One X. On November 7, we launched Forza 7 on the world’s most powerful console, unleashing Forza 7 in all its 4K/60fps glory. Even before the launch of the Xbox One X, however, we launched the update that brought the X1X version of FM7 to the world. That update also included a huge update to Forza 7, addressing numerous issues in the game and bringing new features into the game, such as the Auction House. Just a few days later, we launched the first Forza 7 #Forzathon events as well, bringing sequential challenges to the world of #Forzathon for the very first time.
And don’t forget the Samsung QLED Car Pack, possibly our most specifically titled DLC Car Pack yet, and one that featured some killer vehicles including the 1957 Maserati 250F and the 1978 Porsche #78 MOMO 935/78, aka “Moby Dlck.”
video: Samsung QLED Car Pack trailer
A new month also meant a new bounty in our Bounty Hunter series – this time we had Forza creative director Dan Greenawalt as our community target. It was Dan’s first time in the Bounty seat but at least he was comfortable, driving his real-life ride – the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350R – on one of his favorite Forza tracks, Laguna Seca. After a couple weeks of hard-charging hot-lapping, Dan set a very respectable sub-1:38 lap time and we had some great rewards, including two exclusive cars voted on by the Forza community – the W Motors Lykan HyperSport and the Ferrari Scaglietti.
We also announced our “Gears of Gearheads” offer in November; where players could grab awesome Gears of War-themed Driver Gear in Forza 7, including JD and Kait suits just for playing specific events in Forza 7. Everyone who plays Gears 4 before December 31 will be eligible for a code for a Gears of War 4 suit; those download codes will be delivered to players via Xbox Live messenger in January.
DECEMBER
First we had Gears for Gearheads, then, in December we showed our friends at 343 Industries the love with some Halo Driver Gear suits available in Forza Motorsport 7. In addition to a suit with the Halo logo, we have two character-based suits available – one for inspired by Master Chief, and the other featuring the armor of Fireteam Osiris’ Olympia Vale. In fact, those latter suits are still available as of this writing – just set a time in any one of a handful of Rivals events (listed here).
Of course, the big news for the final month of 2017 was Leagues in Forza 7. Launched just a few weeks ago, we’re still in the inaugural season of our new competitive feature in the game. If you’ve spent some time in Leagues so far, you’ve seen just a small portion of the variety and fun that the feature can offer. In our first season, we’ve moved from strictly Ghost events to a mix of Ghost and Sim events. Future seasons will see even more variety – and remember, there’s always something great to win just for taking part!
December also saw our biggest and best Bounty Hunter Rivals event, along with a brand-new bounty target. Phil Spencer (GT: XboxP3) is the star of this month’s BH event and he’s been giving the Forza community a run for their money. As always, players who beat Phil’s final time once the event is closed will receive a special exclusive reward car voted on by the Forza community! Even better, everyone who sets a time in the event will receive an amazing reward car – the 2017 Porsche #92 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR. In fact, there’s still time for you to get the car! All you need to do is set a time in the December Bounty Hunter event (found in the Featured Events channel of Rivals) and you’ll receive the car after the event is closed on January 3. That’s an amazing race car for very little effort, so what are you waiting for?
So as you can see, 2017 has been a big one for Forza and 2018 is going to be even better. The Forza Racing Championship will return in 2018 and we’ll have more news and fun to come. Don’t forget to tune into our annual New Year’s Eve livestream on December 31, beginning at 9 p.m. on Mixer and Twitch. We’ll be playing Forza 7 and have a special giveaway for viewers on Mixer. We’ll be back with the next edition of the Week in Review on January 5! Until then, have a great new year!