Forza players, start your engines: it's (almost) competition time.
Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios have announced that the Forza Racing Championship (ForzaRC) is returning for 2018. Things will kick off officially with the first ranked season of global competition beginning on April 2, but players can go ahead and start registering today.
ForzaRC 2018 will see players competing against one another in Forza Motorsport 7, vying for more than $250,000 in prizes. According to Turn 10, the regular season will be split into two series, each of which consists of seven weeks of ranked events with a final live playoff event featuring a prize pool of $75,000. After both series are over, the top 24 drivers will be allowed to compete in the Forza Racing World Championship 2018 for a shot at $100,000 and the title of champion. Here's how the dates line up:
- Series 1: April 2 – May 23
- Series 1 Playoffs: June 16 – 17, live in Seattle
- Series 2: July 9 – August 29
- Series 2 Playoffs: September 29 – 30, live in Mexico City
- World Championship: October 2018 (final date TBA), live in London
Just ahead of the start of the first event, Turn 10 is hosting a pre-season invitational on March 24 in Seattle, featuring "some of the best drivers and teams in the world."
Finally, ahead of the season's launch, Turn 10 says it is bringing a couple of eSports-focused features to Forza Motorsport 7: Spectate and See the Grid. Both features were present in Forza Motorsport 6, and Turn 10 says that they have been redeveloped for the latest entry. Spectate will allow you to watch live multiplayer races with improved camera transitions and performance, along with positioning data for on-track cars. Seed the Grid allows multiplayer lobby hosts to manually set the grid order during race setup. Both features will be present in the February content update.
If you're interested in competing, you can sign up at the Forza Racing Championship website. Those simply interested in tuning in can find a broadcast schedule for each event there as well.