The Forza Franchise Debuts On Windows 10 PCs For Free

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
I like Microsoft's decision to make a lot of its upcoming games free on Windows 10 PCs. Whether it is a free PC copy with an Xbox One game purchase or, as in this case, simply free to Windows 10 owners, this is good marketing on Microsoft's part.


Arriving on the Windows Store this spring and available for free, Forza Motorsport 6: Apex is a powerful demonstration of what the ForzaTech™ engine can do when unleashed by DirectX 12 at resolutions up to 4K. Developed by Turn 10 Studios, Forza Motorsport 6: Apex is the first step in Microsoft’s commitment to creating amazing Forza experiences for Windows 10 PC gamers.
 
Microsoft really seems to be putting a bunch of money behind DX12. I'm really surprised, although I guess it could mean the Xbox One isn't selling as well as they'd like so they need to look elsewhere for gaming revenue.
 
Shame its on Windows Store only, that I am aware of anyway. GT and Forza style car porn games have been strangely absent on PC world (despite it being the system for anything simulation related) and I am glad to see one of them finally coming to PC, but since I have removed Windows store from my W10 install I think I have made it clear what I think about that crap. So far I think they have lost otherwise 100% guaranteed sale and I am a bloody fan of the serie who owned every single Forza that came to Xbox360.

God damn, I feel so torn apart. :(

*edit* Wait, is it free for everyone or just new PC purchases that come with Windows 10?
 
Forza is a great game to make F2P. You can just buy and download the tracks and cars that you want. It makes perfect sense. I could also see a car racing game doing seasons like the current generation of fighting games.
 
Hmm... "a curated experience for those new to Forza"... only 6 locations and a no mention of a total car count...


This may be the first time we see a game 'dumbed down for PC'.
 
Hmm... "a curated experience for those new to Forza"... only 6 locations and a no mention of a total car count...


This may be the first time we see a game 'dumbed down for PC'.

From Shacknews:

However, it will feature 20 tracks and a selection of 63 cars, as opposed to the Xbox One version's 460 cars.

Disappointing there, but it's definitely a start! Shit, I'd pay for the full game, obviously.
 
Disappointing there, but it's definitely a start! Shit, I'd pay for the full game, obviously.

Yep, 63 cars. All aboard the failtrain! I highly doubt Macrofirm will give us the option to buy the full game on PC.

"We're devoted to making Windows™ 10© a great gaming platform!"

(backstage):

"Johnson! Quickly give me info on how someone plays games in Excel! Apparently people are using their Personal Computers to play Interactive Video Tapes!"

"Sir! it looks as though they load the tapes using a steam-powered system called Internet©."

"Damn it Johnson! Why haven't we thought of this!? We need to tap into this market!"

"But Sir, how can you play these Interactive Cartridges without the Amazing Power of the XBox™ One© Home Entertainment System™©!? These Personal Computers just don't have the calculation power!"

"We'll have to figure out a way! Strip all the content, dumb it down! Remove features! We need people to hop on-board... Make it FREE for god's sake!"

"Sir, You're a genius!"
 
I hope they bring more than a tech demo. I'm pumped. Love me some forza.
 
Dangling a carrot to be assimilated to windows 10? I won't fall into the black hole. Why are they pushing so hard for a "free" operating system? What are the motives? Nothing is "free"...
 
I've been waiting for this for a long time. I hope they bring the rest of the cars over so we can get the full Forza experience on the PC.

I think that article about no steering wheel support is bullshit. Why would MS release a racing game without wheel support? And how would that random publication know that?
 
Your loss then. I'm sure your reasons are hilarious as usual. My bingo card is ready.

I'm kinda lazy, I'll do it before it's not free. Is that one on the bingo card?

Actually I won't do it on my Surface Pro 3. I did that once and lost all my battery life, and prefer some of the old charms menu functionality.

Free games are nice. Missing multiplayer doesn't matter to me, and it's free so I won't much miss the missing tracks and cars. Sounds to me like a helluva demo.
 
EA seems to be doing a much better job with Need for Speed PC. Although the arcade"ish" gameplay isn't for everyone, they have full wheel support with shifter plus other things PC gamers have been asking for in ports.

I'd much rather have a full Forza with wheel support, game modes, and the laundry list of vehicles for $59 then the free stripped down version.
 
hmmm... i gpedit disabled microsoft store but i wanna try this forza out.... wonder if it'll work without store....
 
I've already got Forza 6 on Xbox, so I don't have much need for a slimmed down version on PC. Aside from resolution and performance, I don't have much to gain. If it had wheel support, that would be an entirely different story. That said, I'll still give it a try. If it's successful, and leads to a full-fledged Forza on PC, that would be incredible. Especially if it one day came with wheel support. So, fingers crossed that this is a stepping stone rather than a one-off.
 
I appreciate free is free which is nice. I think its more a sign of fear. MS is clearly not confident of their hold on the PC these days. Linux games have taken a huge leap forward the last year or two, I still have my windows partition for now. A year ago I was split pretty much 50/50 now I boot windows pretty rarely honestly. I won't delete quite yet... still a free game or two isn't going to really entice me back. Good choice by MS though for every gamer power user type they pull in the more likely they are to help grandma upgrade as well. If Vulkan gets some traction... I hope Google full out on a proper desktop linux (call it Chrome Pro Desktop or some such thing) and MS can go back to doing whatever it was they did before windows. lol
 
Nice try Microsoft but I am still not installing Win10.
This.
Its a tech demo anyway, nothing like the full game.
I've got more racing games than I can shake a stick at atm, nowhere near enough time to play them and all the other games that are queueing up!
This is hardly a tempter.

I mean, Fallout 4 is on hold because Tomb Raider lol. I really like Fallout 4 too, and I've hardly made a dent in GTA V.
Then there is Project Cars, Dirt Rally, Grid Autosport, Shift 2, Prospekt, Rocksmith 2014, Van Helsing Final Cut.
XCOM is waiting in the wings and Farcry ancients if I ever shift some of these titles ...
I havent even played much of Elite, X3 Terran Conflict and Albion Prelude yet, too much of a time sink atm.
Feck, good times !! :)

And damn, when Oculus Rift arrives, eek!
 
Last edited:
Dangling a carrot to be assimilated to windows 10? I won't fall into the black hole. Why are they pushing so hard for a "free" operating system? What are the motives? Nothing is "free"...

Well, the store is part of why it's free. MS is clearly hoping that people will start buying apps from the Windows Store, which is why they're pushing it so hard with games they're publishing. Even their free-to-play games (Fable Legends, Gigantic, and now this) use the store. If MS actually fixes the store to make it more appealing to gamers they could have a chance to make it into something. This is even more true if MS sticks to it's word and doesn't release a new OS, instead opting to just keep updating 10.

I appreciate free is free which is nice. I think its more a sign of fear. MS is clearly not confident of their hold on the PC these days. Linux games have taken a huge leap forward the last year or two, I still have my windows partition for now. A year ago I was split pretty much 50/50 now I boot windows pretty rarely honestly. I won't delete quite yet... still a free game or two isn't going to really entice me back. Good choice by MS though for every gamer power user type they pull in the more likely they are to help grandma upgrade as well. If Vulkan gets some traction... I hope Google full out on a proper desktop linux (call it Chrome Pro Desktop or some such thing) and MS can go back to doing whatever it was they did before windows. lol

I highly doubt MS is afraid of their hold on the PC market. This is more of a move to expand and increase their gaming presence. Compared to the PS4, the XB1 is doing horrible. When MS stopped reporting numbers they had less than half of the PS4. They're pushing back into PC gaming because it's a growing market again and a market they think they can regain some relevance in.
 
upload_2016-3-1_23-28-37.png
 
I've been waiting for years for Forza to show up on PC. While this isn't the full game, it's a start. Maybe if it's popular enough, they will release the full version of the next Forza.
I don't really see how they can stop a racing wheel from working on this game. Even if they do, I'm sure someone will figure out a work around.
 
Microsoft really seems to be putting a bunch of money behind DX12. I'm really surprised, although I guess it could mean the Xbox One isn't selling as well as they'd like so they need to look elsewhere for gaming revenue.

I think the decision is based more around competing with alternate APIs than anything else.
 
I think the decision is based more around competing with alternate APIs than anything else.

I agree completely. Developers are not exactly jumping up and down for DX12. The engine guys are getting... "can we easily port this to Android/Iphone/Tablet ect" Which is why DX12 is looking like a big fail. As a pc game lover the future is both exciting and scary. There is the possibility that the age of the crap console port, could be replaced by the crap mobile port. On the other hand over the next year or two it isn't crazy to say mobile gaming power will start getting pretty darn close to the "current" gen of consoles, so there could likely be an explosion of great games as developers are more easily (ie cheaply) able to release games for multiple devices. MS needs to keep as many of us captive to their ecosystem as they can to put pressure on developers... but when you consider the advantages for them to use DX12 over the competition imho I would understand if MS goes into a bit of a panic mode over the next year.
 
Wow, I saw the title and thought "Hmmm, this might actually be worth clicking okay on that Upgrade to annoyance W10 window".

Then I saw the car count is gimped, W10 store is a must, no multiplayer, no wheel support. Way to come roaring out the gate only to fall straight on your dumb face M$, super fail.
 
I highly doubt MS is afraid of their hold on the PC market. This is more of a move to expand and increase their gaming presence. Compared to the PS4, the XB1 is doing horrible. When MS stopped reporting numbers they had less than half of the PS4. They're pushing back into PC gaming because it's a growing market again and a market they think they can regain some relevance in.

After the GFWL fiasco Microsoft+Games in the same sentence leaves a bad taste in my mouth. As I have banned buying Ubisoft games for being DRM douches I also have a ban in place on Microsoft for screwing me over on a few GFWL games. I stick to my bans too.
 
That's muhahahahaha. I only knew about the wheel thing, and I don't care about multiplayer, but the third takes it into double facepalm territoriy.
Yeah. Not having fullscreen isn't a big deal for me - I tend to prefer borderless windowed mode anyway. It's effectively fullscreen, but with Alt+Tab support. I'm sure someone will hack together something that turns a wheel into an XBox One controller as far as the OS is concerned. The lack of multiplayer, though? And no SLI support? What the hell. Seriously.
 
Yada, Yada, it is Microsoft, I will not take a free game, yada, yada. Well, I will get it and enjoy it, more the loss for you guys. I have not bought a game from the store because I have no time to play games like I used to. That and I have a backlog on my PC let alone my XBox One and 360. :)
 
To begin with, games purchased through Windows Store are built on Microsoft's Universal Apps Platform, and not the conventional desktop-based executable. The game is essentially a "modern UI" app, and not a conventional Windows application. This has great limitations - no NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFire support; no real fullscreen mode (just borderless windowed mode or pseudo-fullscreen); and V-sync being always-on. Other major downsides of UAP apps include no support for modding, and mouse macros. What's more, since UAP apps don't have *.exe extensions, you can't add them to Steam, and so no Steam Controller support.

What the fuck? Yeah it's free, and I'll probably try it out as I have never played Forza. But if this is generally how any MS Store game purchase is treated, why the hell would anyone actually pay for a game from the MS store ever?
 
Back
Top