Forza Motorsport, Xbox Studios's cinematic 2023 live-service racing sim, is getting a nice visual upgrade in an upcoming update (titled Update 15) shortly after the first anniversary of its release. On December 9, Forza Motorsport will get Ray-Traced Global Illumination (RTGI), making the racing game and all its shiny cars look more realistic. RTGI will be available for all PC versions of Forza Motorsport as of December 9—as long as the game is up-to-date that is—although it will need to be manually enabled in the game's graphics settings. After being enabled, RTGI will apply to both gameplay rendering and in-game cinematics, as well as the built-in photo mode.

While Forza Motorsport's minimum recommended GPU specification is an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, you will need at least an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series or AMD RX 6000-series graphics card to take advantage of RTGI, with the game's developer, Turn 10, recommending an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or better for high graphics and RTGI settings. For the uninitiated, RTGI helps increase realism by simulating how light interacts with surfaces and materials, more accurately rendering indirect lighting and shadows in-game. In NVIDIA's blog post announcing the updated visuals for Forza Motorsport, it recommends using the RTGI in conjunction with DLSS Super Resolution or DLAA to get the highest frame rates. Forza Motorsport is available for PC on Steam (currently 50% off), the Microsoft Store, and PC Game Pass

More than 600 games and applications feature RTX technologies, and each week new games integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex and advanced ray-traced effects are released or announced, delivering the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX players. This week, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Marvel Rivals launch with DLSS 3, Path of Exile 2 enters Early Access with day-one support for DLSS Super Resolution, and the Delta Force PC Global Open Beta kicks-off, also with day-one DLSS Super Resolution support. On December 9th, Forza Motorsport's next update introduces support for immersive Ray-Traced Global Illumination lighting. And in the near future, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2's next update introduces support for DLSS 3 Frame Generation.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Launching With DLSS 3 & Ray Tracing
Uncover one of history's greatest mysteries in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on December 6th with the game's Digital Premium Edition Advanced Access launch, followed by its general release on December 9th. Step into the shoes of Indiana Jones and embark on a single-player, narrative-driven journey that spans the globe during the height of the legendary archaeologist's career. From the hallowed halls of the Vatican and the sunken temples of Sukhothai to the pyramids of Egypt and the snowy peaks of the Himalayas.

Hi everyone, in January we shared with you all a status update on 3 key areas of feedback from the Forza Motorsport community that our team is working to improve—Car Progression, Forza Race Regulations and Drivatar AI. For Car Progression, today we began collecting feedback from various sources on changes that will give players freedom to equip the parts they need regardless of car level. We have additional changes to the system in various states of design and testing with plans to implement these changes as soon as possible. For Forza Race Regulations, we have enabled Race Marshals and some content creators the ability to flag in-game incidents for review to help feed changes to the adjudication model that will improve the system. Lastly, we're testing out fixes to the Drivatar AI to alleviate competitors bunching up around Turn 1 and causing the first few AI opponents to reach insurmountable leads. Beyond those key changes, we're investigating other priority fixes for the AI that improve their overall driving behavior and reduce how aggressively they stick to the racing line. These are just a few examples of where we are prioritizing work in these areas, and we will be sharing more on each soon.

While we have 3 distinct teams here at Turn 10 working on these key improvements, we're also actively developing fixes and improvements to other areas of the game. These will begin rolling out alongside Update 5 in February and will include a Skip Practice option to the Career mode pre-race menu to make it more discoverable, and a save point after finishing a Practice session so you can complete the Featured Race later. We're also developing fixes and quality-of-life improvements to the Livery Editor based on the reports you've shared with us, including custom advanced zoom for applying decals, the ability to paint upgraded brake calipers, and a prompt to save your design when exiting the Livery Editor. While this update is in active development, we wanted to share an earlier-than-usual look at some of the changes we're targeting for this release.

The fastest way to give the gift of cloud gaming starts this GFN Thursday: For a limited time, every six-month GeForce NOW Ultimate membership includes three months of PC Game Pass. Also, the newest GeForce NOW app update is rolling out to members, including Xbox Game Syncing and more improvements. Plus, take advantage of a heroic, new members-only Guild Wars 2 reward. It's all topped off by support for 18 more games in the GeForce NOW library this week.

Give the Gift of Gaming
Unwrap the gift of gaming: For a limited time, gamers who sign up for the six-month GeForce NOW Ultimate membership will also receive three free months of PC Game Pass - a $30 value. With it, Ultimate members can play a collection of high-quality Xbox PC titles with the power of a GeForce RTX 4080 rig in the cloud. Jump into the action in iconic franchises like Age of Empires, DOOM, Forza and more, with support for more titles added every GFN Thursday. Seamlessly launch supported favorites across nearly any device at up to 4K and 120 frames per second or at up to 240 FPS with NVIDIA Reflex technology in supported titles for lowest-latency streaming. This special offer is only here for a limited time, so upgrade today.

As autumn continues, we have another week of big game releases to look forward to, hopefully with something that'll suit most gamers here. This week's AAA title involves a lot of sand, wars and monuments. As for the rest of this week's new games, you can be a tycoon, a driver of very expensive motor vehicles, craft your own stick, pretend to be a starship captain or you could be a monster slayer. Let us know if any of these tickle your fancy in the poll.

Total War: Pharaoh / This week's AAA title / Wednesday 11 October
In Total War: Pharaoh, the newest entry in the award-winning grand strategy series, immerse yourself in ancient Egypt at the zenith of its power and experience the dramatic events that threaten its destruction. With dynamic real-time battles and incredible turn-based empire management, can you rise above your adversaries to become Egypt's last great Pharaoh and stand against the collapse of an iconic civilisation?

Since the first Forza Motorsport launched in 2005, the Forza franchise has been about falling in love with cars and building community. As a co-founder at Turn 10 Studios, I had the honor of working on the very first Forza Motorsport and have been with the studio for 20 years. In that time, we've grown considerably but, through it all, a constant has been our love for cars, pushing the limits of gaming technology, and creating a racing community for everyone. With less than two weeks to go before we release the brand-new Forza Motorsport globally on October 10, we wanted to share more of our vision for the game, explain how Forza Horizon titles have informed our racing sim, and share our approach for both new players and our core community.

To start, we've been asked why we didn't call this "Forza Motorsport 8," and it's a fair question. From the beginning, we've designed the latest Forza Motorsport to be an evolving racing platform, with new content that adds to the experience of automotive entertainment through skill and competition. Last week we shared a little more about what players can expect with our evolving racing platform on forza.net. It's due to this shift that we didn't need a number in the title; we created a platform.

To celebrate our presence here at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, today we revealed that the local and world-famous Nürburgring GP circuit will be available in Forza Motorsport at launch on October 10. What's more, as part of our plan to regularly bring new content to the game after release, we are also happy to confirm the iconic 12.9-mile (20.83 km) Nordschleife will be coming in Spring 2024.

Both tracks have been completely rebuilt for the Xbox Series X|S and PC. Nürburgring GP is the latest addition to the 20 tracks featured in Forza Motorsport on day one - with more announcements remaining, check out the list of tracks we've announced to date. In addition to our track lineup, Forza Motorsport starts with over 500 cars, and this list will continue to expand beyond launch. Check out the cars we have announced so far and stay tuned for future car reveals as we get closer to release day.

Today at the Xbox Games Showcase we revealed that Forza Motorsport is coming to Xbox Series X|S consoles, Windows 10 and 11 PCs via the Microsoft Store and Steam, and Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and Cloud Gaming (Beta) on October 10, 2023. We also shared more details on Forza Motorsport's cover cars. The stunning 2023 No.01 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R racecar and 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray will be available for fans to drive in Forza Motorsport at release.

The Forza Motorsport community is fueled by its passion for competition. We can't wait for you all to experience these innovative and ultra-modern cars from General Motors in our game. In addition to this closer look at Forza Motorsport's cover cars, we also revealed our latest trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase, which was captured in-game on PC.

NVIDIA has announced that Forza Horizon 5 has finally got the DLSS 3 and NVIDIA Reflex update. Last week, DLSS 2 was available for Deceive Inc. and Tchia!, and DLSS 2 is also coming to Gripper, The Last of Us Part I, and Smalland: Survive The Wilds next week.

According to NVIDIA, with the DLSS 3 update, Forza Horizon 5 can now run at over 120 frames per second at 4K/UHD resolution on RTX 40 series, including the RTX 4070 Ti. According to the NVIDIA benchmark, the game was running on Intel Core i9-12900K, 32 GB of RAM and at Super Resolution Performance Mode with maximum settings and extreme ray tracing mode. With DLSS 3, even the RTX 4070 Ti hits an average of 125.2 frames per second.

What if you drastically changed the way that you play Forza Horizon 5? ESWAP X PRO CONTROLLER — the gold standard for professional gamepads - is heading to Mexico and sporting the colors of the game Forza Horizon 5. To celebrate the occasion, it includes a world-first feature: RACING WHEEL MODULE. Dubbed ESWAP XR PRO CONTROLLER FORZA HORIZON 5 EDITION, this gamepad provides next-level immersion and a truly exceptional racing experience. It's all about precision, speed and control!

A GAMEPAD CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FORZA HORIZON 5 DEVELOPER TURN 10
Officially licensed by both Forza Horizon 5 and Xbox, ESWAP XR PRO CONTROLLER FORZA HORIZON 5 EDITION is a true collector's-edition gamepad to be treasured. Customized with the official colors of Forza Horizon 5, you'll enjoy all of the precision and responsiveness that have made Thrustmaster's ESWAP X PRO CONTROLLER a worldwide smash hit.

Steam's Spring 2023 sale has kicked off, offering a bunch of PC games at discount. To celebrate its first year anniversary, Valve is also giving a 10 percent discount for the Steam Deck during the Spring sale. There are plenty of great titles on sale, and some of the popular include Forza Horizon 5, God of War, Battlefield 2042, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Total War Warhammer, Red Dead Redemption 2, and more.

There are several franchises on discount as well, including The Witcher, Battlefield, Borderlands, Fallout, Resident Evil, The Elder Scrolls, Civilization, Hitman, Doom, Far Cry, and others. As noted, the Steam Deck is also on sale with 10 percent discount. This means that if you are in the US, you can get the base version for just $359 while the 512 GB version is down to $584.

Today, at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, we went under the hood to share what we've been working on: The next generation of Forza Motorsport to immerse you in the spectacle of racing like you've never seen before. Captured in-game and running on Xbox Series X, we unveiled a brand-new trailer, which debuted alongside the first ever gameplay of Forza Motorsport, showcasing how Maple Valley - a beloved, fan-favorite track since the very first Motorsport game launched in 2005 - is being brought to life in stunning detail and beauty.

In addition to Maple Valley, our trailer introduced players to returning fan-favorite tracks Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Laguna Seca Raceway. We also revealed Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, a South African track making its Forza Motorsport debut, and the all-new Circuit Hakone set in Japan, an original, high-speed Grand Prix circuit built to showcase the technically advanced, state of the art immersion of the new Forza Motorsport.

Microsoft's console and gaming division, Xbox, has been working closely with game studios and game developers for years now, and in return for supporting the creation of games, the company gets its platform exclusivity, where the game is only available on Xbox series of consoles. Today, Xbox has decided to unveil a hefty list composing out of AAA titles exclusive to the Xbox Series X|S consoles. Starting off, we have the Forza Horizon 5 game, which delivers the experience of the open world of Mexico, while allowing you to drive the world's greatest cars. The game is set to become available on November 9 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass, PC via Steam on Windows, and Cloud Gaming service, which is in Beta.

Next up is a collaboration with 343 Industries game studio, which has unveiled its next-generation Halo shooter gameplay. Dubbed Halo Infinite, the game is a massive experience set in the world of Halo, which also includes a free-to-play multiplayer element aiming to bring millions of people together across Xbox consoles, cloud, and PC to join the fight. When it comes to new franchises, we have seen the announcement of Redfall, a co-op first-person shooter that sets you in a small island town of Redfall, which has now fallen to the pandemic of vampires, and your goal is to put it to the end. Coming from Arkane Austin, the developers of Prey and Dishonored, the game is sure to be a quality one.

After Sony has showcased Unreal Engine 5 capabilities on the new PlayStation 5 console, there was a counterpart event missing from Microsoft. However, Microsoft has announced today that the company will host a live stream event on July 23rd. That is the date when Microsoft will host the event on YouTube and Twitch. Starting at 9 am PT time, the company will showcase the capabilities of the new Xbox Series X console. Possibly, Microsoft will show ray tracing and all the latest technology advancements with AMD's RDNA2 graphics card found inside the new console. What we can expect in terms of games is Halo Infinite and maybe new Forza and Gears of War games. Either way, we have to wait and find out on July 23rd.

NVIDIA's GeForce Now game streaming service has been a bit of a hit and miss lately, with some of the bigger publishers like Activision-Blizzard, Bethesda, and 2K games revoking availability of their digital game libraries on NVIDIA's service. Possible reasons for those events were unknown and the platform did suffer from it. Some speculations were that the publishers were going to switch their preferred online streaming service platform or build their own. So far it is still a mystery. However, it seems like there is no end to the pain, as some very big publishers decided to revoke their digital libraries as well.

Big names like Microsoft Xbox Game Studios, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Codemasters, and Klei Entertainment have all decided to stop offering their games on the GeForce Now game streaming platform. This is very much a major disappointment and another big setback to the platform, as now you can not play any of the titles from these publishers. Titles from the games series like Halo, Gears of War, Forza, Dirt Rally, Batman and many more, are now not available. It remains to be seen if these publishers announce a move to another streaming service, so we have to wait.

Microsoft today via a devblog announced their push to make Variable Rate Shading an industry-wide adoption in the search of increased performance that can support the number of pixels and quality of those pixels in future games. The post starts with what is likely the foremost question on the mind of any discerning user that hears of a technique to improve performance: "does it degrade image quality?". And the answer, it seems, is a no: no discernible image quality differences between the Variable Rate Shading part of the image, and the fully rendered one. I'll give you the option to speak on your own perception, though: analyze the image below and cast your vote on the poll.

As resolution increases, so does the amount of work that any given GPU has to process to generate a single frame - and compare that to the amount of additional work that goes from rendering a 30 FPS, 1080p game to a 60 FPS, 4K one, and... It stands to reason that ways of squeezing the highest amount of performance from a given process are at a premium. Particularly in the console space, where cost concerns require the usage of more mainstream-equivalent hardware, which requires creative ways of bridging the desired image quality and the available rendering time for each frame.

Microsoft Studios' latest entry to the Forza racing series, Forza Horizon 4, launches on PC and XBOX October 2, 2018. In a nice change of pace from the norm these days, a free demo has been released for trial on both platforms. Those interested will have to navigate the Microsoft store, however, as this will join the other Microsoft exclusives in only being available for purchase there and nowhere else. Initial impressions of the demo are positive from media outlets in general, although there were also videos out that showed the game still has random bugs a few weeks out from launch. PC Gamer also shares more details on the demo, and the game alike, which is worth a read if you are a fan of the series.

The demo also included an benchmark mode that offers useful information beyond just an average FPS number. Indeed, we see also a timeline on how the CPU and GPU fared throughout the length of the benchmark, a stutter count, whether the GPU was in a limiting situation or not, and how far off the achieved frame rate was compared to the target number (which can be left unlocked). Initial results from MotoGamesTVon YouTube show an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 and AMD Ryzen 7 2700X-based system netting an average of 57 FPS at 4K under Ultra settings, with a similar system netting over 75 FPS in Forza Motorsports 7 from last year. The demo is impressive looking on PC, and we remain curious if a driver update will help gain more performance.