Here’s Why Forza Motorsport Won’t Have the Nurburgring Nordschleife at Launch
Forza Motorsport chief Dan Greenawalt told The Drive that it’ll be the most accurate Nordschleife in series history.
In the buildup leading to the new Forza Motorsport game launching on October 10, details have been steadily trickling out from Turn 10 Studios about the reboot of the long-running sim racing franchise. New tracks, new cars, a new safety rating system, and even new physics are on the way, but fans have noticed one glaring omission: the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The famed circuit won't be ready in time for launch, though it will come later in a free update. And we now know why it was delayed, courtesy of Dan Greenawalt, General Manager of Forza Motorsport.
In an exclusive statement to The Drive, Greenwalt explained the delay of the legendary Nordschleife after it was featured in almost every Forza Motorsport on day one, except for Forza Motorsport 5.
"We know how important the iconic Nürburgring GP and Nordschleife are to the Forza community; especially in modes such as Rivals and Time Attack," Greenawalt said. "In addition to both being completely rebuilt for Forza Motorsport, we focused on the Nürburgring GP circuit because of how well it fits into the vision we had for the Builder’s Cup career mode as well as Featured Multiplayer. Both of these modes focus on shorter sprint races as well as pitting and qualifying in the case of Featured MP or practice in the case of Builder’s Cup."
In the big picture of Forza Motorsport at launch, the lengthy Nordschleife was seemingly deemed less useful to those modes, where shorter races are typical and practice and qualifying sessions necessitate many laps around a given track. "We specifically picked 20 tracks that best support our vision and create the most compelling experience for our players," Greenawalt continued. As of this writing, 17 tracks have been announced for Motorsport, leaving three more to be announced before launch.
While the explanation of focusing development resources around banner modes like the new Builder's Cup is completely plausible, it also allows Turn 10 time to rebuild the track. Veteran Forza players will know that the studio's rendition of the Nordschleife has never quite been best-in-class in terms of accuracy, even since its laser-scanned overhaul in Forza Motorsport 5. It has existed largely unchanged since 2014, and been due for an update for years. Reading between the lines, this delay may hint at a potentially huge rework of the track.
Rebounding off of the hopes of a better Nurb, Greenawalt further promised that the "iconic 12.9-mile (20.83 km) Nordschleife will be coming in Spring 2024" and that it "will be the most accurate Nordschleife ever available in Forza Motorsport." How accurate, we'll have to wait some months to find out. But if this delay means Forza fans will get the Nürburgring they have always deserved, perhaps it's a worthy one.
Want to talk Forza Motorsport? Hit me up at chris.rosales@thedrive.com
