Forza Motorsport's Career Mode Is Always-Online, DLC Plans Detailed

That's extremely disappointing. At least I still have the last Forza Motorsports I can play sans online.

This future of "single player requiring online" is getting old already.

This doesn't prevent any cheating in races. Only thing this would prevent is someone getting a particular car earlier than normal and bring able to race in faster cups. But they'd also only be racing the cars of the same class so the point is moot.

Thinly veiled excuse to try to justify always online.

Everyone's console is online as soon as they turn it on to play any games really. They all do syncs and server checks etc. I talk to my friends so being online is essential to me. No issues for me no doubt people will make out it's a disaster. You can still race etc. Plus stops cheating which is vital.

@Suda52 no because they will have internet or be on the internet I'd assume tethered etc. Handhelds are normally online unless it's a switch. Always online makes sense. And isn't an issue. Will be fine. You can probably do a hotspot and connect etc.

@Suda52 people go to outside and still have internet my friend.

The always-online single player games/game modes aren't really a problem now, but when those servers shutdown, then you just paid to look at a title screen...

It would be nice if game companies were required to switch them to locale saves (and to be able to download your saves from the cloud) before shutdowns...

I don’t get it but it probably won’t be an issue. My only gripe is if I go to play one day and the servers are down or under maintenance. That’s happened a few times with other titles and it’s really frustrating.

I was hoping the new Forza took inspiration from the recent GT7 in order to make it the better game. I wasn't expecting them to take the worst part (online career)... That's disappointing to put it politely....

If i had to buy it for £70, instead of using gamepass, this would stop me buying and playing it until it was really dirt cheap.
Single player campaigns should not be always online. Full stop.
The only saving grace is that its on gamepass and is included in my subscription

Hopefully Microsoft tests the "must be online" feature better than Sony did for Gran Tourismo 7. There was period of time that I couldn't play the career mode because of a bug introduced in an update that needed to get patched...

We need it to be online. This is just the career mode. Relax. Massive over Reaction. Your Console is online 24/7

@DropaBombOnEm This exactly. People seem to overlook this fact constantly when defending "always online". It's not a matter of having a constant internet connection (obviously in the modern era that's no problem), its these games having a very finite lifespan that they can be accessed/played.

Welp, better hope the internet never goes out. I’m mostly bummed that this means the game will be unplayable and dead one day.

It’s just disappointing. There’s no need for a single-player campaign to be always online.

Probably not going to get this now. At least we have forza horizon.

@Episode_13 Laptops are not always online. When travelling it is not always possible/convenient to be connected; connections can also be unreliable, resulting in you being booted from the game. You are also at the mercy of server outages (like GT7). Then you will get to the inevitable “end of life” with these licensed games. Before they would simply be delisted from stores whereas this time servers could be turned off completely rendering them permanently unplayable.

Just having 24/7 access to an internet connection doesn’t mean single player experiences should be forced online.

This is really disappointing. You'd think they'd learn that this was a bad idea from gt7's launch period...

@Episode_13 Even if consoles were on the internet 24/7 (lets ignore people who might have spotty internet or on laptops), but servers are not always up making the game unplayable when unplanned or planned server outages happen.

Not surprised, even PGA Tour 2k23 has online only single player career.

@FenIsMightier that affects all games. I play all my games online. I don't get the issue. I game online. If there's no internet I don't play as much. Simple.

Oh no. Ep13 has moved over from eurogamer. Poor comment sections here. They can’t take any criticism or negative feedback to anything MS

That's bad news, for sure.

Saying there is "no reason" for a single player to have always online is inaccurate. There are valid reasons to have always online (prevent cheating, instant analytics on where issues are, daily/weekly/monthly events etc.)

It will be unpopular for some but it's something the developers weighed and decided was best for this particular game and it's community. It's up to you if it's still for you but Turn 10 is aware that some people hate this and are still making what they (the professional game makers) feel is the best decision for their core audience.

I don't think it is a coincidence that the two premier racing sims on the market are always online.

To the shock of nobody anywhere lol

oh well. everyone's always online nowadays anyway.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I had to stop reading Eurogamer because of all the user following/trolling/stalking fanboy nonsense. Can we please not bring it here!!!

@Episode_13 But in most cases there's no reason for a single player or story mode to require online. Like others have said if servers go down then you can't play anything. If it's a game I've downloaded then I expect there may be times when I can't play a game due to network problems but if I've bought a game on disk there's no reason I shouldn't be able to play the single player at least despite any network issues.

@Episode_13 "you will not be able to play your games and you'll like it" Episode_13

Gonna be very cool when in a few years after the game is delisted & the servers shut down like what happens to all Forza games it'll be literally unplayable.

@Kevw2006 I'm 39 I don't get people moaning about online your console is online full time etc. The Xbox is pretty useless offline. It's not an issue. I got into MP gaming because of Xbox and Halo when I was younger. Online MP is amazing. So it's not a problem for me and the way I play. Just played 2 hours of BF 2042 a now Excellent game!!

@pepsilover2008 you know what. I'll just play something else. Not an issue. Forza being online is fine and I expect a massive over reaction to follow and it has haha!

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I was recommended here. My view is fine. I just don't think it's a big deal. PX is a great place to be.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner in still on EG chill. I'm welcome on both. Cheers 😊

Well this game is definitely going to get review bombed hard when it releases. No way I am ever going to buy it now either, if they want to make it some always-online deal then I have absolutely no reason to own it, as I will never truly own it anyways. Might as well just have it tied to my GamePass subscription.

This also means that I will never buy it on Steam for my Steam Deck either, because it is absolutely essential for games to work offline in order for them to have any purpose on a handheld device.

So right there they already lost two sales, from me, someone who has been a loyal Forza fan since they released the first game on the original Xbox.

Anyone defending this always-online nonsense should be ashamed of themselves. This is not something that we should find acceptable. To be honest this really killed my hype for this game, the entire reason I was looking forward to it was to have an alternative to GT7 that I could play offline. Now it's like I might as well just continue playing GT7 and forget about this new Forza game. What's the point of even playing it anymore?

@Episode_13 "you paid for a game, but since the single player is down due to unnecessary online servers you should either buy or play another game"

@FenIsMightier Yup, the entire reason why Forza Horizon games have worked so well for me is because they are just as playable offline as they are online. It's why I can still go back and fully enjoy them on an old Xbox One that I took offline, or on my Steam Deck on the go.

I think another thing that a lot of these always-online cheerleaders and shills overlook is the fact that even if your internet connection is somehow completely faultless 24/7 365, that still doesn't mean the games servers are going to be faultless. There have been many instances where I tried to play GT7 but couldn't due to a server outrage or server maintenance.

@Episode_13 If you're happy enough not being able to play if there are any server issues then that's fine. You're entitled to your opinion and I respect that. But you also need to show people that do have legitimate concerns about it the same courtesy. Personally, I don't really have any problems with a game having an always online requirement provided that there is a reasonable reason for it. I would happily just play something else if there were any server problems. However, if all games suddenly went down that route and then if there were problems and I can't play any of my games, even those on disk then I will have a problem with that. As long as a disk version of a console is available I will always buy that version and make sure I have a few games on disk that I can play just in case there are ever any server outages.

Understand the mp but it is unforgivable to require a constant internet connection to play what is essentially the campaign .

Have a sneaky suspension Starfield might have this too.

The UI looks horrible and bland. The grid position idea I do like for the money/challenge side of things that's smart design I want more good ideas like that just wish it went to the careers more as well as other quality of life features.

Online (sure for cheating/save file editing but is it worth it for less sales from people that can't play or people that won't I think that's a bit of an odd sacrifice, why not just go cloud, oh way it's not strong enough and shooters/sports/racing and other games are fast paced so it's not suitable yet) so why not just make it cloud only by that point. Don't half commit to what is part of the hardware, and having a retail presence. Stop half committing and just do it already. I'm not interested but it's less annoying then half caring.

Was there pit stops, where is the pit crew we seem to still never see them in Forza Motorsport games why is that.

The career layout seems fine but depends in game from the beginning then showcasing it.

Why CP? Why even have credits what to buy cars? Why a separate system for parts then if that's how it works? I get blueprints or other focus in RPGs but that isn't the case here. It feels like a restriction/limit but it doesn't make sense. Why do that, you already offer cars like candy yet limit upgrades but 99% of the time I never tune my cars in Forza, they are either auto-tuned because the game forces the speed parts (what a bad way to tune it) sometimes when I want to manually do it and the cars run so well besides however I'm driving and tweaked the settings my way to know I pick a car able to beat the events so I never need to tune my car 'ever'. XD Others may need to I barely do in Forza Motorsport games.

If the progression is linear (them showing in footage of later in the game makes it hard to tell for the release then in the footage of a dev build of course) did they learn anything from FM6 (FM7 fixed that somewhat to be more fair on rewards per level and events to do in progression I didn't mind that) and did they learn anything from GT7 and that fans are not interested in an online connection or bad progression seriously.

It seems fine but it's hard to tell yet. It seems more flexible but I don't know for sure. The 'tours' with 4 seems interesting.... the left to right reminds me of Shift 2 Unleashed somewhat. Just hope it doesn't have awkward restrictions (Project Cars 3 was worse).

FM is the series I want to care for because GT sucks right now (I do enjoy both series but ever since GT5 or FM5 I've had concerns and find 1-4 entries of both series more engaging and better designs for casuals and hardcore fans yet they seem to make the games worse and worse) and I don't mind FM games directions sometimes but when they pull garbage I get just as annoyed and I go to Wreckfest and Grid instead or 20 years ago racing games with better execution.

Also the side goals. Those are fine in games but eh I don't care for them if the 'benefits' aren't worth it most of the time so I most of the time don't care for them. They better be worth it or else why include them. Is it more XP? Is it more currency? Car Points?

Do we have mods those were optional and didn't do much for me at all in FM6/7 so why should I care.

Do they seriously think some game competition needs the same garbage design ideas to them no wonder this industry is creatively bankrupt. Because it's surprising how many companies are that dumb and keep making dumb decisions to annoy players that don't want to play their games and those that don't know any difference (or are fine with it and move on from the game that's fine by them but us that go back to games later get disappointed) sure that's up to them but restrictions of certain sorts make me not interested.

Even if it was in Gamepass 'maybe' I'd have gone and bought a copy but why should I now knowing this info.

If no bad grinding of progression sure I'd welcome that if there is then well I'm not playing.

Forza: Online required. We don't care if people are internet challenged. We want to avoid cheating/save file editing the campaign not just multiplayer but won't actually develop a solution just tie a server to it instead. We want to avoid the second hand market (even though the license for the game goes down digitally anyway so for physical copies my bother then). We want ewaste disks even though I thought the point was to avoid ewaste even cosnole wattage so why not the 'games' hmmm. We want it to not be hackable (it will be over time to remove the restriction when emulating in the future).

Me: Thanks you saved me from having any interest in your game now. I don't have to care for your game anymore. I'll play the first 7 games and other 20 year old racing games 'offline' when your online requirement is useless. You couldn't be bothered to offer better solutions instead. If drivatars or other factors that use the internet that's totally fine and also 'multiplayer' but why the singleplayer core who wants a career mode required for internet for unnecessary purposes that is BS. Also why do I need a server check when at launch it could be just as broken as GT7 was and have issues with server checks to do such prevention of elements in the game.

If you want better save file editing/cheating in singleplayer than better design your game to avoid that idiots not to mention the server cost sure if for the multiplayer but why add more to singleplayer for even more usage of the servers does the cost add up a bit more than for player checks. They are lazy so eh internet required instead. Sigh just why. I already don't care for an Xbox Series console or PS5 (let alone a phone or PC to to play 'anywhere' this specific game the only one I care to use on the Xbox platform), so you make it that much easier to not need one now. Goodbye. Same as Ratchet disappointed on PS5 as well. If they don't have that one game people care for then it's zero games I care for experiencing.

No wonder they have marketing teams that suck at marketing they don't want to tell us/show stuff (just tons of car montages wow how useless) like this which I wanted to know about and make it clear I was going to be disappointed and I still am. Finally they tell us but still tell us earlier so I can tune out quicker.

Internet requirements, bad progression and bad physics is the only things that stop me from games. While unclear of the career besides what was shown of later in the game to show enough to us 1/3 or 2/3 seems pretty good to start before it releases.

@SuntannedDuck2 Yeah, well said.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I’ve seen a few new accounts in the last week or so going hardcore on brand loyalty.

I get this is an Xbox site, and we (presumably) are all fans, but blindly defending a corporation at all costs will always be odd to me. Not to mention it just ultimately ends up hurting the brand because they’re not pushed to be better.

One reason I really admire the PX site is the nuanced comments, and how many of us are multiconsole/gamers first. I’d hate to see that’d change.

@BobCoffee

If your aim was to make someone else look bad it has backfired spectacularly bud.

I'm embarrassed for you.

Well not really, laughing at you more like.

This seems to keep happening. I'll admit, I'm definitely not one to personally get as bent out of shape about this as others do. However, I really don't think any $70 game with a single player component should be always online. F2P live service, that's one thing, but ehhh, I don't like this.

@SBandy1 +1

@BobCoffee
*calls other people whiny crybabies
*dedicated towards crying and whining about them

The most aggressive users always seem to project the most.

I'd rather MS/Turn 10 figured out some way to require you to race while actively connected online to join the leaderboards, or stay disconnected if you don't want to be on them and just play the campaign. At least that way when you lose internet (which happens rather often here in the future wetlands of America) OR when the servers are overloaded (can't imagine that happening at launch, can you???) you can still play.

Some of us still can't get a high speed internet but yet still want to play this game , I was going to get this but now its a hard pass now

@TheUnrestCure Yeah that would be the considerate thing to do.

I was never going to play this, but this concept sucks. Very rightfully, GT7 got bashed a lot for this, as was Redfall.

It’s ok if you want to lock some online progression to, well, always being online, do that, but damn still offer a way for single player game modes to be playable offline!

@FenIsMightier what on earth, FH5 having monthly and weekly seasons or whatever is awesome. It's not crap. Live Service games work well when done well. I play FH5 it's supported monthly. It's not crap!
Sea of Thieves is a thriving success too. I also play BF 2042 which is very good now the BP is was great and I have the new one. No money spent.

@SuntannedDuck2 appreciate your detail, bit of a long read. I thought the menu's looked great and clean. Also progress seemed good too. Many people are happy. I played the last FMS so long ago that I can't remember. But I think the menus being bland means the graphical power is all in the racing which is fantastic. Will see, as you know I have no issues with the online bit. As most of the games I play are MP. As I love online gaming. Xbox is Amazing at that for me. I hope it's a fantastic racer.

Well that’s a terrible decision for a game series that gets delisted incredibly quick.

Also goodbye to playing on steam deck.

Love playing 4/5 on steam deck.

@Kevw2006 I'm all digital. Have been since Xbox one. I have a flat with my wife. I do not want anything on disc. I do for the older games. I have GTA 5 on disc. But I don't see the point of discs. I also have 3 external HDs connected for my old 360 games and Xbox one games. So I do care about the old games. I buy them digitally. That's me. But I'm organised and love my digital library. I also have game pass stacked until 2025. That's me. Online is vital. I work in IT, online is literally 24/7 this is the same with online gaming. If I can't play MP then yeah I'd be sad but I play something else for a few hours and any outage is normally solved in a few hours by Xbox. Now my ISP could be an issue yes. I'd just play an older offline game. But the Series X is mostly a bit useless offline anyway. It's a tricky one. I just don't get some peoples gripe that's all 😊

This is such a Xbox move. They had a fantastic game show and show cased some brilliant games and then they thought having one of their biggest IPs single player content tied to the internet would be a fantastic 💡.

Nooooooo! Have they not seen the ***** show that is Gran Turismo 7 with its always-online requirement?

What happens in a few years when the game is delisted and the servers go away? Forza games don’t live very long before being delisted. You can’t even buy Forza 7 anymore.

@InterceptorAlpha My console is always online so I can download updates, I really don't see what the problem is with career progression being online only. It's exactly the same as Horizon's weekly Forzathon events, you can't complete all of those if you're offline.

@Suda52 You're still connecting to Xbox servers. It's still an Xbox game. Xbox has been an ecosystem for some time now, not just a console. I play the majority of my Xbox games on Game Pass for PC now, even though I own an Xbox Series X.

@Acurisur My Xbox travels. Frequently. I've also never participated in a Forzathon event. I play Forza solo. So all the unnecessary, online bits, only serve to discourage me spending any money on it, or even playing it for that matter.

What's really funny, is my Quest 2, a Facebook product, is doing a better job at supporting playing games offline than my Xbox is.

At least it comes to GP day 1. I was gonna buy it but not now. I imagine those that live in poor internet areas will be a little disapointed buy this.

@Ep_13 I know sorry about that. XD They remind me of many other games and don't stand out they aren't unique they feel like everything else that's not exciting it feels manufactured then 'we actually care'. I know UI can be awkward to do/the least fun for developers but at least try. Even Wreckfest which I'm enjoying looks like Driveclub's menu and structure which is fine but the UI is just seen it all before. Many games go for the box/streaming service look and over time I've gotten sick of it.

It gets the job done but it's not appealing it looks like any game could do it which is true because many games do it. I've come to appreciate more interesting looking but still understandable without being too awkward on where to go, what I'm looking at. Personality I find is important.

The progression seems fine. As far as we can tell from the point in the game they wanted to show off/what was said.

I can see a lot of aspects being appealing and on the right track for the audience no doubt.

I have played 5-7 (6 most recent) on and off more these past few months not for prep just because I hadn't progressed much in them and of course I got 6 in the last 2-3 months and made my way through it as it's the last one I'd never played (I don't own 1 anymore) and it completed the collection for me of the Xbox One games so as 5-7 are fresh in my mind enough these past few months it's easy enough for me to have an idea what they have changed the same way I played Shift 2 & Project Cars 3 not a 10 year gap like most people so things were clear how they were very similar and good and bad design there. In terms of what the audience wants I don't know enough but still for what I'm seeking it seems fine so far.

I mean menus should be clear where to go, what to do and I don't expect them to push hardware with menus (the racing is where it counts of course but navigating to the racing is important as well, what content we get, what systems get used and underused/never used) they aren't supposed to I just think more visual distinctive identity not the same things I see 'everywhere in any game, streaming service or mobile look'. Familiarity is fine but if the titles/descriptions aren't that doesn't help and having different design language makes it easier if the text isn't the backgrounds and other elements can help when the text doesn't.

I play singleplayer, I did co-op games but nowadays single player. Thing is singleplayer online required games don't need Xbox Live/PS+ which is fine I'd be more annoyed if they did. It makes sense for more multiplayer core focused modes to have those or MMOs I'm fine with those needing it it's where it makes the most sense to do so. I was glad to pick up GT Sport cheap and go yep no PS+ (to get an idea how they handle the server limits of the game for saving/what content is blocked if your offline and such).

I don't doubt it won't be a good game it seems to be going for some good directions. I won't deny Xbox does some good multiplayer gaming (I don't play them but doesn't mean I don't see the signs).

@SuntannedDuck2 GT Sport was plop, so not sure, the new GT is decent. That is a long comment, will try and let it sink in first.

@Suda52 Umm yes you did, and I quote "Just like I already said, this game is not Xbox exclusive". It is an Xbox exclusive, because Xbox is an ecosystem, not a console. When you play it on Steam Deck or ROG Ally, you're still connecting to the Xbox servers. You're still playing an Xbox game. The Steam version is virtually identical to the Microsoft Store version, bar that it uses a different save file format. The ROG Ally version is the same, it's either the Windows Store version or the Steam version, both are PC ports of the console version.

Xbox hasn't been just a console since Gen 9 started in 2020. I can play all my Xbox 1st party games on my phone, but they're still Xbox exclusives being streamed via Game Pass cloud.

@Suda52 You need to clarify your statements, you mean an Xbox console, Xbox itself is an ecosystem, which is why you can play it on a Steam Deck or a ROG Ally in the first place.

So what you mean is certain games are not "console exclusives".