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'Forza' loot crates won't be around much longer
Future Forza racing games will not feature loot crates. Today, developer Turn 10 announced that it is removing loot crates from Forza Motorsport 7, and that this fall's caRPG Forza Horizon 4 won't feature them at all. "While we've never charged money for prize crates in Forza Motorsport 7, their presence in the game has continued to be a source of controversy," the studio's Alan Hartman writes.
Microsoft bought five studios to fix its Xbox game problem
It's no secret that Microsoft's lack of exclusive games is partially to blame for the Xbox One lagging behind the PS4. To rectify this, the company's gone on a bit of a shopping spree, acquiring five studios under its Microsoft Studios umbrella. Four of these are existing outfits: Undead Labs (State of Decay), Playground Games (Forza Horizon), Ninja Theory (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice) and Compulsion Games (We Happy Few). The fifth is an all-new studio called The Initiative headed by Darrell Gallagher, the former chief of Crystal Dynamics who spearheaded the Tomb Raider reboot and joined Microsoft back in April.
The best Xbox One games
The Xbox One has come a long way since its 2013 debut. Microsoft has fixed the console's hardware flaws with the One S and the recently released One X, but now it has a different problem to address: a dearth of compelling games you can't play anywhere else. In recent years the company has relied on timed third-party exclusives that eventually make their way to other platforms or are also available on Windows and Steam. It happens on PS4 as well, but the difference there is that Sony has a wide assortment of games that you can only play on its console. That's not to say there aren't exclusive games worth playing on Xbox; it's just that they're buried among annual Forza racing games, middling modern Halo releases and the testosterone-fueled Gears of War franchise. Microsoft has promised to break out of that predictable release cadence, though, so the future could be brighter than you may have come to expect. As it stands, these are the best Xbox One games you can play right now.
Microsoft released the wrong version of 'Forza Horizon 3' for PC
Forza Horizon 3 players on Windows PCs just got a lot more than they bargained for. When Microsoft and Playground Studios posted the January car pack update, they briefly released the wrong version (likely a developer build) of the racing game. This not only prompted a massive 53GB download -- basically, re-downloading the entire game -- but created havoc with your saves. If you started a new profile in this version, it wouldn't be playable in any other release.
'Forza Horizon 3' weather forecast: snow and blizzards
While the Forza games have dabbled with inclement weather before (rain was the big feature of Horizon 2 expansion "Storm Island" and to the consternation of some, Motorsport 6), snow in driving games as a whole has been mostly avoided. After all, why would you want to struggle maneuvering a car through what feels like wet concrete? Folks who download Horizon 3's "Blizzard Mountain" expansion starting December 13th will find out.
Forza Horizon 2 is the next exclusive racer on Xbox One and 360
Now that Forza Motorsport 5 is dishing out realistic driving, it's time for the Xbox-exclusive series to swing back to open-world arcade racing: meet Forza Horizon 2. While the announcement at IGN doesn't show much (unless you really like box shots), it promises a few big upgrades for both Xbox 360 and Xbox One gamers, including a weather system that hasn't been in previous Forza titles. You'll also get an adaptation of Forza 5's Drivatar technology that should deliver slightly more authentic (read: mistake-prone) AI opponents based on your friends. Naturally, Xbox One players will get a visual upgrade at the same time. You'll have to wait until the fall to give Horizon 2 a spin, but we suspect that Microsoft and developer Playground Games will have more to say about it at E3 next week.
