gamescom 2015: Forza Motorsport 6 Highlights Wet Weather Racing, Forza Race Leagues and New Tracks

Turn 10 Studios’ Forza Motorsport 6 is revving up for its Xbox One-exclusive debut on September 15, with more than 450 cars to drive and 26 world-famous tracks for virtual racing fanatics to tour. As part of the festivities here at gamescom 2015, we’ve got a few cool new Forza 6 features that we want to let you in on. So buckle up!

This year, wet weather racing makes its debut in Forza Motorsport 6. Developer Turn 10 Studios has gone to great lengths to ensure that wet-weather racing looks and feels like the real thing, from tires that hydroplane across physically based 3D puddles to the placement of puddles based on where they form in the real-world. This painstaking process included track visits, review of race film, and consultation with professionals like IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden who recently won Honda Indy Toronto in wet weather conditions.  

We’re also showing off Forza Race Leagues – a brand-new multiplayer feature in
Forza 6 – for the first time at gamescom 2015. Leagues are strictly defined, scheduled races that are based on each player’s skill level. Leagues keep track of a player’s skill level and match them to other players in groupings called driver divisions. These divisions allow players to race against players of the same skill level, providing competitive matches to all players regardless of experience level. All players compete on a leaderboard dedicated to their respective league. By running races on a regular basis, they can earn points to compete on the Forza Race League Leaderboard. Once a League ends, players earn in-game credits depending on their final finishing position on the leaderboard.

You can even spectate Forza Race League races! Spectators can freely switch between any of the cars in the race, and choose from an array of cameras – including game cameras and on-board car cameras, as well as telemetry data. In addition, players can chat with other spectators or with players in the lobby. We will also be giving access to popular broadcasters, so they can stream Leagues on their own channels. These broadcasters will have full access to the current-running Leagues for all skill levels, to broadcast to their viewership.

And let’s not forget the tracks themselves, either! The game will include 26 tracks, including 10 that are new to the franchise. Today, Turn 10 confirmed four new track environments at gamescom: Autodromo Nazionale Monza and Circuit of the Americas will make their franchise debut, and Sonoma Raceway and Hockenheimring return, completely rebuilt from the ground up for this generation. These join longtime favorites such as Sebring and Le Mans, making Forza 6 one of the most complete and realistic racing games ever created.

Itching to get behind the wheel of Forza 6? Well, we’ve got something to tide you over until it launches: From now until August 11, you can download the Forza Horizon 2 Playground Select Car Pack for free, via the Forza Hub App on Xbox One. The pack gets you access to the 2015 Volvo S60 Polestar, 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona HEMI, 1997 McLaren F1 GT, 1978 Ford Mustang II King Cobra, 1952 Fiat 8V Supersonic and 1986 Honda Civic Si.

Act now and grab the Playground Select Car Pack while it’s free; after August 11, it will cost $5.00.  And we’ll see you in Forza Motorsport 6 on September 15!