Porsche announced a partnership with Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport franchise during the New York International Auto Show, proving once again that ending their long-running exclusive partnership with Electronic Arts was a wise decision. In addition, Porsche recently confirmed their inclusion in Gran Turismo Sport, iRacing and Assetto Corsa giving the brand its broadest presence in video games in recent memory. The growing popularity of eSports, online competition in video games, makes this partnership a valuable one. Forza’s Racing Championship is currently the largest eSport racing community, and allows Porsche to reach a younger audience with a high degree of realism.
Forza Motorsports has not included Porsche cars at the time of a game’s initial release since very early in the series’ history. Instead, Porsche models appeared recently as downloadable content. Both Forza Motorsports 6 and Forza Horizon 2 have featured Porsche as expansion packs for the popular games. The partnership announced last week was paired with a new expansion pack for Forza Horizon 3, the series’ current open-world racing game.
Forza Motorsports 6 has featured more than 20 Porsche models since 2016
The official partnership is being inaugurated with a seven car pack for Horizon 3. The included models span six decades of Porsche history, and include the following:
- 550A Spyder
- 718 RS 60 Spyder
- 911 Carrera RS 2.7
- 993 GT2
- Cayman GT4
- 991 GT3 RS
- The new Panamera Turbo
As with all cars in the series each is fully customizable.
Per Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board responsible for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG. “Racing games and eSports connect the real and virtual worlds and enable us to gain further access to the young target group. It means that they can develop a passion for Porsche even before buying their first sports car.”
The 2017 ForzaRC season will include a motorsport championship for all Porsche fans. Registration will open on April 12, 2017 at this link. Qualification for the 2017 season will take place online beginning May 1st.