Forza Motorsport returns after a six-year absence this October

We've finally gotten a release date for Forza Motorsport as part of today's Xbox Games Showcase.

The long-awaited new entry in Turn 10's simulation racing series is due to launch on October 10, 2023. As with most first-party Microsoft games, Forza Motorsport will be available on day one with Xbox Game Pass across Series X and PC, or you can pick it up as a standalone release.

It's been a long, long wait for the new Forza Motorsport. All seven previous entries in the series came out at two year intervals, from the original game in 2005 to Forza Motorsport 7 in 2017. It will have been a full six years between that last game and the new entry, which is darn near a Gran Turismo development schedule. We've had two entries in the more arcadey Horizon series to fill that gap, but they haven't really been a substitute for proper simulation driving.

Forza Motorsport joins an absolutely stacked October, launching along with heavy hitters like Assassin's Creed Mirage, Alan Wake 2, and Spider-Man 2. There's something for every taste heading into Halloween, it seems, from horror to racing and beyond.

Today's Xbox Games Showcase is likely to be the peak of the E3 2023 schedule, but there are several more to come, not the least of which is the impending Starfield Direct. Next week will also bring us Ubisoft Forward and the Capcom Showcase.

Only time can tell how this new game will fare among the best Forza games out there, but it's looking very promising so far.