turn 10 studios
Latest
Seen@E3: A pair of McLaren MP4-12Cs
Outside of its E3 press briefing, Microsoft had two McLaren MP4-12C cars emblazoned with Forza Motorsport 5 logos. We've been made to understand that these are very impressive cars. We went to Jordan Mallory, Joystiq's resident car lover, for some expert commentary. When shown the photograph above, a single tear rolled down Mr. Mallory's cheek, at which point he looked away from the screen, staring wistfully into the distance. He has not spoken since. Update: These are MP4 12Cs, not P1s.
Forza 5 to feature a 'Drivatar' that races while you're away [Update: trailers!]
Forza Motorsport 5 will include a "Drivatar" cloud-based feature, as announced at Microsoft's E3 press briefing today. A player's Drivatar is a personal profile that races while players are away, accruing points for players that aren't actually playing the game at the time. The game was initially announced at Microsoft's Xbox One reveal event in May as a launch title for the system.%Gallery-191158%
Xbox One official game box design unveiled
Microsoft repre-soldier Major Nelson confirmed the box designs for Xbox One games by showing off how copies of the newly announced Forza Motorsport 5 will look. Much like how the Wii U went bold with blue, the Xbox One design is gallant in green. The Forza 5 design also reveals the logo of BBC motorcar show Top Gear. Forza 4 featured Top Gear content, and so will Forza 5, apparently. You can check out the full box art by speeding on past the break.
Forza Horizon 'Meguiar's Car Pack' DLC puts pedal to metal March 5
The Forza Horizon monthly rollout of shiny new DLC drives continues with Meguiar's Car Pack', which is revving up for a March 5 release. The DLC comes without cost to those with the game's season pass, while other can gain access via a 400 MSP pit stop.The six cars included are the 2013 Audi RS4 Avant, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz G65 AMG, the 2013 BMW M135i, the 2003 Ferrari Challenge Stradale, the 2004 Peugeot 206 RC, and the 1998 Nissan R390. If you're looking to take the DLC out for a test drive, the Nissan R390 is a free sample this month. Meanwhile, season pass owners get the 2010 Joss JT1 as a bonus. %Gallery-179906%
Forza Horizon 'February Jalopnik car pack' DLC hits the open road Feb. 5
Six rides are being added to Forza Horizon on Tuesday: the 2013 Subaru BRZ, '91 Ferrari 512 TR, 2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser, '70 Nissan Datsun 510, and '73 Mazda RX-3. The pass is included with the game's Season Pass or separately for 400MS Points ($5). As a special bonus, the '66 Ford Country Squire will be free for all speed demons.
Forza Horizon is bringing in the new year with January Recaro Car Pack
The new year is on the Forza Horizon (ho ho ho) given that January 1, 2013 sees a bunch of new downloadable cars come to Turn 10 Studios' racer. OK, that's definitely the last time we'll use that joke this year. 2013 is an entirely different matter.The January Recaro pack features six cars, including the 2012 Cadillac Escalade ESV, 1983 GMC Vandura G-1500, 2012 Lotus Exige S, 2012 Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition, 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR, and the 1995 Ford Mustang Cobra R. It's priced at 400 MSP, but Season Pass holders get it for free, along with the 2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster as a bonus treat.
Forza Horizon crashes to $14.99 on Microsoft Store [update: other offers too!]
Time to be thankful for the Microsoft Store, which is now offering Forza Horizon for a measly $14.99. Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios' racer released just under a month ago, so 75 percent off its regular price is brimming with Black Friday goodness.Jordan got revved up for Forza Horizon in his review, speeding all the way to four out of five stars. He said that, while there are a lot of "little, annoying things" about it, Forza Horizon is "a massive toy chest full of hyper-accurate hot wheels."Update: As commenter JoshHandrich notes, Microsoft Store has a few other handsome Black Friday offers, the lot neatly collected here. Standouts include Dance Central 3 ($14.99), Borderlands 2 ($24.99), NFS: Most Wanted ($24.99), and Dishonored ($24.99).
Forza Horizon 'Bondurant Car Pack' DLC coming Nov. 6
Though we suspect you'll be busy doing donuts in Master Chief's Warthog on November 6, the date also marks the release of the "Bondurant Car Pack" for Microsoft's other first-party fall release, Forza Horizon.Priced at 400 Microsoft Points on the Xbox Live Marketplace, the November DLC includes a six-pack of new vehicles to augment the moments our review called "incredibly beautiful." But who needs to stop and smell the roses when you can inhale the sweet fumes of a 1965 Shelby Cobra or that 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon? (Okay, we probably should have used the new Lamborghini Gallardo as our second example.)Full list and details on the new rides can be seen after the break.
Forza Horizon drives today into a much better place
Hey, Timothy, remember when we talked about wanting a modern Knight Rider game but with a sultry-sounding lady car? Well, Timbo, it looks like someone's been paying attention.
PSA: Forza Horizon demo is go go go, also new screens and dev diary
The Forza Horizon demo is now live on Xbox Marketplace, waiting for you to buckle up and drive it like crazy. All of which means the game is now on the horizon, releasing as it is on October 23. Alright, we promise that's the last 'horizon' pun we'll make*.
Forza Horizon demo pulls into Xbox Live October 9
Forza Horizon launches on the Xbox 360 October 23, but a few weeks before then you'll be able to get behind the wheel early with a demo on October 9. Available free to Xbox Live Gold subscribers for the first week and everyone else after, the Forza Horizon demo will feature a few missions, several of which will be Rivals mode-compatible – you'll be able to compare demo deeds with your Xbox Live friends.A section of Forza Horizon's sandbox map will be unlocked in the demo and all those who download then purchase the game on October 23 will get a custom 2013 SRT Viper GTS "designed to highlight Forza Horizon's 'gone-gold' status."
Forza Horizon gets a Season Pass, $50 for access to all DLC
Microsoft has announced a Season Pass DLC plan for the upcoming Forza Horizon, the latest entry in the racing series that is set in a virtual representation of the state of Colorado. The Season Pass will cost $50 USD (or 4,000 Microsoft Points), and grant access to the game's Expansion Pack set to arrive in December.Season Pass holders will also nab each of the six car packs as they're released over the next year, as well as five exclusive Season Pass vehicles and a batch of launch day rides. Turn 10 will reveal all of these cars gradually on its Twitter feed. The Season Pass (which represents a 17 percent saving on all of this content) will be available for purchase on October 23, right when the game turns the key for launch.In addition, we've got tracklists for each of the game's three radio stations, all churning out tunes during the in-game "Horizon Festival." Have a look at the songs, after the break.
Forza Horizon post-launch plan includes monthly car packs, first 'expansion pack' on Dec. 18
Turn 10 and Playground Games will aim to stock the Forza Horizon virtual garage with monthly car packs, design director Ralph Fulton has revealed. There will also be expansion packs, the first of which will launch on December 18."What we're really excited about is some expansion packs we have coming, the first of which will launch on December 18th and that will really extend the experience you can have in Forza Horizon," Fulton told Gamerzines. He also confirmed a demo would eventually come to Xbox Live, which seems fitting since it's a Microsoft-published game and also cars.
Forza Horizon dev diary races against the world
Forza Horizon takes things off the track into the wilds of Colorado, where for the first time in the series players will have to deal with traffic, sometimes even at night. Just for fun, we like to imagine that every SUV on the road is full of nuns on their way to nun school.
September Pennzoil car pack rolls into Forza 4
The 11 cars now available in September's Pennzoil car pack for Forza Motorsport 4 are all pretty ... slick. For 560 MS Points ($7) you'll get a couple of Vipers, an Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale and a '53 Corvette, just to name a few. The full list of the cars can be seen past the break.Players that picked up a season pass for the game will have to shell out money for this DLC pack, as the last add-on to be included in the pass launched in April. New Community Monthly Rivals Mode events, including one that features the Pennzoil-sponsored Vipers, accompany this new release.%Gallery-164406%
Taking the road less traveled in Forza Horizon
Forza Horizon marks the franchise's first foray into an open-world setting. It's hinged on a fictional racing festival in Colorado, where anyone can show up with their ride and chase the kind of immortality known only to Paul Walker and Vin Diesel. Playground Games, a new outfit composed of former Bizarre Creations and Codemasters folks, is developing the game under supervision of longtime Forza custodian Turn 10 Studios.Turn 10's Dan Greenawalt equates Forza Horizon to Coachella or Bonnaroo, a grassroots festival celebrating the culture and style of its particular scene. The Horizon festival provides the vehicle (sorry!) for gameplay, a smattering of different race types and challenges wrapped in a diverse campaign.%Gallery-163548%
Forza Horizon collector's edition, pre-order goodies revealed
Forza Horizon hooks up early adopters with a code for a free whip, instantly available in Forza Motorsport 4: the 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392. If you pre-order Forza Horizon at a participating US retailer and don't own Forza Motorsport 4, you can also select from one of four exclusive cars to download and use in Forza Horizon on launch day, October 23: a 2012 Aston Martin Virage, 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia, or a 2010 Nissan 350Z.Should you decide to pre-order, you'll have the option of Forza Horizon's standard package (stick shift, cloth seats, AM/FM radio) or you can opt into the more limited edition package. Forza Horizon's collector's edition includes a steelbook case, and VIP membership branding you as a special player in the community and granting access to exclusive DLC and in-game events. VIPs will be able to download a special five-car DLC pack on day one, additional liveries and a progress token that instantly unlocks more advanced cars in career mode.%Gallery-160186%
2013 SRT Viper GTS rolls into Forza 4 as free DLC
The common man can't afford an ultra-sexy car like the 2013 SRT Viper GTS, now available for download in Forza Motorsport 4. A vehicle like the Viper is the equivalent of car porn on wheels, loaded with elegant curves and 640 horsepower under the hood.Still, anyone can play Forza 4 and download this DLC pack for the Viper free of charge, but will have to dole out in-game credits or car tokens to obtain this beast in career mode.
Fame is always just over the Forza Horizon
Ralph Fulton of Playground Games was very insistent that Forza Horizon is not, in fact, an arcade racing game. It may take place in an open-world version of Colorado, may be free from traditional Forza career modes and may feature a youth-focused licensed soundtrack (read: dubstep), but the actual driving is built on Forza's physics engine.The problem with arcade-style racing games, according to Fulton, is that the appeal of racing different vehicles is lost due to the fact that all cars have to handle roughly the same in order to preserve an "arcade" feel. By using Forza's existing physics engine, Playground Games hopes to circumnavigate this problem and preserve the series' pedigree for for automotive accuracy.That being said, the only car featured in the demonstration I saw was the 2013 SRT Viper, and as it was a hands-off demonstration, I was unable to compare its handling with my experience driving similar cars in previous Forza games. What I can say, is that the Viper did more than its fair share of drifting around Colorado's mountain roads, and that it racked up wicked popularity points doing so. See, in Forza Horizon, you're not just driving around for the hell of it. You're driving to get famous.%Gallery-157065%
Porsche joins Forza 4 lineup today
Porsche was not included in the launch of Forza 4 due to complications with EA, who had the license at the time. But Porsche makes its return to the Forza franchise today (as promised) with the Porsche Expansion Pack DLC.The Porsche Expansion Pack is available to download right now for 1600 MS Points ($20) in Forza 4, and adds 30 new rides to the virtual garage and new Porsche events in World Tour and Rivals modes.
