Forza Motorsport: Xbox and PC racing

Forza Motorsport (the 2023 reboot, internally FM8) released 10 October 2023 on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC (Steam and the Microsoft Store). It is not on PS5. It launched day one on Game Pass; standalone is around $69.99, Premium around $99.99. Turn 10 develops it, Xbox Game Studios publishes it.

Is Forza Motorsport a sim?

It is an elevated simcade, not a true sim. Turn 10 rebuilt the tire model to run 8 points of contact at 360 Hz and claims a 48x improvement in tire fidelity over Forza Motorsport 7. That is a real step up — tire load, temperature, and grip behave more believably than any prior Forza. But it sits well below rFactor 2 or iRacing on physics. Press and player consensus lands it between Gran Turismo 7 and a dedicated sim: more grounded than GT7, nowhere near the precision of iRacing or ACC.

Part of why it reads as casual is deliberate. The braking and steering assists and the controller tuning are genuinely good, which is why so many players say it “feels good on a controller” — most PC sims assume a wheel and feel vague on a pad.

Forza vs iRacing

The two answer different questions.

• Physics: iRacing is far stricter. Forza forgives mid-corner mistakes that would spin you in iRacing.
• Structure: Forza has a full single-player career (Builders Cup). iRacing has no real career mode yet and is built around ranked online.
• Input: Forza is controller-friendly first. iRacing is PC-and-wheel oriented.
• Price: Forza is a flat price or Game Pass. iRacing is a subscription plus per-content purchases.
• Platform: Forza runs on Xbox and PC. iRacing is PC only.

If you want a console-friendly, controller-friendly game with progression, Forza wins. If you want the sharpest physics and the deepest ranked ladder, iRacing wins.

The Builders Cup career

The career is a CarPG. You take one car into a series and level that specific car by driving it. Upgrades cost Car Points earned only by driving and leveling that car — you cannot buy your way to a maxed build with credits. Uninstalling a part refunds its points, so you can experiment. The structure is a spiritual successor to the FM3/FM4 careers.

One catch: progression is server-side. Even single-player Builders Cup requires an online connection. If the servers are down, your career is down.

Online and multiplayer

Featured multiplayer runs on a fixed schedule with a practice, qualifying, and race format, plus a safety and skill rating system — Turn 10’s attempt at iRacing-style ranked racing. There are also private and league lobbies. Grids are smaller and less consistent than iRacing’s split-based fields, so expect more variable competition.

Wheel and FFB support

Forza supports wheels natively, no third-party drivers needed: Logitech, Thrustmaster, Fanatec, and (on PC) Moza.

• Xbox Series X|S and PC: Fanatec CSL DD, Podium DD1/DD2 and ClubSport add-ons; Logitech G920/G923 and G PRO; Thrustmaster T128, T248, TX, TS-XW.
• PC only: Fanatec GT DD and GT DD Pro (PlayStation/PC-licensed — they reach Xbox only with a separately purchased Xbox-licensed Fanatec rim), Thrustmaster T818, T150/T300, older Logitech Driving Force GT; Moza R9 with CS/GS wheels.

The recurring “Forza won’t recognize my wheel” problem is almost always an Xbox-licensing issue. Xbox only accepts licensed controllers, so Moza and Simagic bases are hit-or-miss there — Fanatec, Logitech, and Thrustmaster are the safe Xbox path. On PC the list is wider. See wheelbases for how these bases compare beyond Forza.

Should you play it?

Play it as a console or controller entry point, or as a no-cost Game Pass try before you commit to a wheel. For a complete beginner on a pad, Forza and Gran Turismo are the easiest places to start. Serious sim racers tend to outgrow it and move to ACC, Le Mans Ultimate, or iRacing once they want stricter physics and a deeper ranked structure.