10 Things We Know About Forza Motorsport 7 So Far

We expected that a new game in the Forza franchise was coming in 2017, and our guess that an announcement would arrive during E3 was proved solid.

On Sunday, during a Microsoft press conference, Forza Motorsport 7 was officially revealed, with first details of the game being confirmed, alongside a new trailer, screenshots and a very exclusive cover star. Here’s what we know so far.

Just from the screenshots and E3 trailer, we can already see just how downright beautiful the game looks. The trailer footage was in 4K, and the step up in graphics is in part due to it being built from the ground up for Project Scorpio (Xbox One X).

It’ll run at 4K in Ultra HD and 60 frames per second on the Xbox One X, but even if you’re on Windows 10 or the standard Xbox One, the game will probably still look absolutely spectacular. It’s been promised to be the “best-looking, most realistic game” Forza has ever created.

2. Huge choice of cars

The initial figure for the cars in FM7 is over 700, compared to 450 in Forza Motorsport 6, and it’ll include the “largest assortment of Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis ever.” Of course, Microsoft signed a new six-year deal with Porsche in April, and we’ve seen some new Porsche additions to Forza Horizon 3.

The game will apparently have “every premium brand” of car you can imagine, and the trailer shows off a huge variety of vehicle types – from GT cars, to supercars, hypercars, classic racers, Le Mans prototypes and truck racing machines too.

3. Lots of locations

Turn 10 said there are 30 different locations in the game, with over 200 different configurations. That’s a very, very healthy number and definitely an exciting prospect. The trailer features Dubai, which could indicate it’s a major location, possibly including a road course through the desert. Naturally, the Nurburgring also has a starring role.

4. Your own character

The driver is now more prominent in the game, alongside the “new motorsport-inspired campaign”. You can now create your own character for the first time ever, with a huge array of racing gear to choose from and loads of options – some linking to racing history or pop culture.

There are apparently over 300 character designs, with female and male models, different body types and a host of things you can change to really make the character your own. Whoever you make, they are showed off more in the game, in the menu system and in pre-and-post-race visuals. They’ll also be represented as “drivatars” in your friends’ games too.

5. Quite a cover star

Alongside FM7 coming to the “world’s most powerful console” – the Xbox One X – the cover star is also something pretty special – the most powerful road-going Porsche ever made. It’s the 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS, which was officially unveiled with FM7 and will grace the cover. Not much more information has been released about the car itself, but it definitely looks damn exciting.

6. More eSport focus

A big element of the FM7 reveal was the mention of larger eSports focus and involvement within the game, such as the Forza Racing Championship and its partnership with Porsche. There’ll be enhanced spectating modes, Mixer integration and we should probably expect expanded eSports competitions and championships too.

7. Dynamic weather

Moving away from the night and weather modes is an all-new dynamic weather system, which changes through races and events. It’s a big step up in the game and will no doubt be helped by the more realistic graphics and visuals. We get a first glimpse of it in the trailer and it looks amazing, to be honest.

8. Smaller details

A few other little details have been revealed too, such as custom soundtracks, friction assist – which impacts how the cars handle when you go off-track and how much time you lose - and it’s reported to include real racing series such as IndyCar and Nascar. There’s also new and improved assists and mods to suit different skill levels.

9. When’s it arriving?

It’s set to be an awesome end to 2017 for racing gamers, with Project Cars 2, F1 2017 and Gran Turismo Sport all set for release. FM7 joins the club, as it’ll hit shelves from 3 October for Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. It’ll be released slightly later in the year for Xbox One X; the description of the E3 trailer says FM7 will launch on 7 November.

The game is the first in the Motorsport series since Forza Motorsport 5 in 2015, and keeps up the tradition of a new release in the Forza franchise each year.

10. Special editions are coming…

A few special editions are already available to pre-order alongside the standard version – Deluxe and Ultimate get access to the exclusive digital-only content, VIP membership and the Day One Car Pack. Plus, Ultimate owners get early access to FM7 on 29 September and the Car Pass for upcoming car packs.