Forza Motorsport 8 release date: Early access, Game Pass & more
When can we play the gorgeous racing game?
Is that tyres screeching as they come around the bend? Forza Motorsport 8 is finally here.
The highly anticipated game is not only visually stunning, but has introduced some real interesting gameplay, with rival drivers set to learn from your driver style – and make dangerous but potentially costly mistakes of their own.
The early access period has impressed players, especially those with a racing wheel and a 4K display (it really does up the stakes), but now the game is available in full.
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So you’re best prepared, we have everything we know on the release date, UK launch time, early access, pre-order, gameplay, trailer, latest news and if it’s coming to Game Pass.
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Race on down to get the scoop and check out all the trailers and gameplay to see what’s in stock for you!
When is the Forza Motorsport 8 release date?
The Forza Motorsport 8 release date is today, 10th October 2023.
This was revealed during the latest Xbox Games Showcase, and after previously having only the vague release window of 2023, it’s great to finally have a solid date locked in.
Competition for Forza Motorsport will be tough, however, as October is full to the brim with upcoming releases such as Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Alan Wake 2, Spider-Man 2 and Alone in the Dark.
Mercifully for the developers, there aren’t any racing games coming out, so Take 10 will have the full attention of Xbox and PC players who have been craving a new racing sim.
When is the UK launch time for Forza Motorsport 8?
The UK launch time for Forza Motorsport 8 is Tuesday 10th October at 12:01am BST. That means it's live now!
We hope you've got work off – because if you're like us, you're going to be racing until the wee small hours as soon as the clock strikes just past midnight.
How to get Forza Motorsport 8 early access
To get Forza Motorsport 8 early access you need to pre-order the Premium Edition of the game or alternatively, the Premium Add-Ons Bundle, and this will net you 5 days of early access starting on the 5th October 2023.
This has the added benefit of getting the game on a Thursday means you'll have the full weekend ahead to play the game and hone in your lap times ahead of the full launch, which drops on a Tuesday.
As well as early access, you will get all of the other additional Premium Edition bonuses, which we will touch upon further down, so keep reading to see what goodies are in store for you.
Is Forza Motorsport 8 coming to Xbox Game Pass?
Forza Motorsport 8 will be a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass, so if you’re already a subscriber, you won’t be shelling out any extra cash for the privilege. The release will be the same for PC and Xbox players alike so don’t worry about missing out (unless you only game on the PlayStation 5 of course).
There are multiple editions of the game, however, which aren’t included with Game Pass, so you will need to purchase these separately.
Can I pre-order Forza Motorsport 8?
You can pre-order Forza Motorsport right now from CDKeys with the Standard Edition costing £49.99, the Deluxe Edition for £55.99 and the Premium Edition coming in at £61.99.
If you’d prefer a physical copy, you can get the game for £69.99 from GAME.
Unfortunately, it would appear you cannot buy a physical copy of the Premium or Deluxe Editions, but you can pick up the Premium Add-Ons Bundle from the Microsoft Store for £29.99. You can also use this if you were just planning to play the game via Game Pass.
You might be wondering just what’s in store for you for each version of the game so we’ve listed what’s included in the Standard, Deluxe and Premium editions just below.
Standard Edition
- Base game
Deluxe Edition
- Base Game
- Car Pass (30 cars delivered to your game weekly, one per week)
Premium Edition & Premium Add-Ons Bundle
- Base Game
- 5 days of early access
- The Race Day Car Pack
- Car Pass (30 cars delivered to your game weekly, one per week)
- VIP Membership (permanent 2x Credits Boost, 5 custom Forza Edition cars to collect, build and race, VIP Driver Gear, VIP Player Card, VIP Crown Flair and VIP-exclusive Rivals events.)
- Welcome Pack (five immediate car unlocks and bonus credits)
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Which consoles and platforms can play Forza Motorsport 8?
Forza Motorsport 8 will be coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC exclusively. As Sony holds onto Gran Turismo, Microsoft want their own triple-A racing sim all for themselves too.
Unlike Forza Horizon 5, there won’t be a pared-back version making an appearance on last-gen consoles, as the game is decidedly a current-gen affair with stunning visuals and complex physics simulations that the AMD Jaguar APUs of the PS4 and Xbox One just couldn’t handle.
While it is a shame that some will miss out – it will be exciting to see the Series X/S and high-end PCs get pushed to their limits.
Forza Motorsport 8 gameplay details
The new Forza Motorsport will bring you more of the thrills and spills of Forza racing you know and love but with stupidly detailed life-like and colourful graphics. It’s staggering how pretty this game looks, and you can check it all out in the Developer Direct from January down below.
Car enthusiasts will love to know that, from launch, there will be over 500 cars to collect, race, and customise. Over 100 of these cars are all-new for the latest Forza.
Those customisation options? There are over 800 upgrades to equip to your cars to improve performance in a huge number of ways. The possibilities are near-endless.
The game also promises the most realistic paint, reflection details, and damage and dirt build-up throughout racing. At least, it’s probably the best and most detailed we’ve ever seen. Paint thickness, chipping, and directionality have been simulated across each and every car model, for goodness' sake!
In terms of the actual racing, it has been revealed that the game will launch with 20 environments built from the ground up. This includes a mixture of fan-favourite locations and five brand-new-to-series locations, with Kyalami in South Africa named.
One of the main upgrades to races is fully dynamic time of day and weather effects. These are a first for the series. Given how fun these dynamic effects can be in the likes of Dirt 5, it’s nice to see the feature added to Forza. Another upgrade is changes made to the physics simulation. Cars should drive better than they ever did before in the series.
Is there a Forza Motorsport 8 trailer?
Yes! There are quite a few Forza Motorsport 8 trailers, and the last big look at the game was the Official Gameplay of the Initial Races, which we have included just below for you to gawk at:
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