New Forza Game Has No Racing at All

The next Forza game trades out racing for match-three puzzles.

By Ricky Frech

The Forza series has become one of the premier racing franchises in video games over the last several years thanks in large part to developers Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games' ability to consistently deliver incredible on-track action. Thus, it was a bit surprising when the franchise announced today that its latest game Forza Customs won't involve any actual racing at all. Instead, the new mobile game uses match-three puzzles to help players restore and build cars. Of course, this isn't a mainline entry into the franchise so neither Turn 10 nor Playground are working on Forza Customs. Instead, mobile studio Hutch Games headed up development.

Mobile racing fans might know Hutch Games from its work on games like F1 Clash, Top Drives, and Rebel Racing, but it's worth saying again that Foza Customs is not a racing game. Players are given various jobs to do, like designing a car or modifying a specific part, and then they'll need to solve match-three puzzles to earn points they'll need to finish the jobs. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any way to take your creations from the game into the mainline series at this point. It's possible it could come in the future, but for now, Forza Customs is entirely separate from the two main series.

It should be noted that Forza Customs includes many of the things players associate with mobile games. Customs includes several options for spending money on microtransactions, though early reports seem to claim that you don't really need to spend to get anything worthwhile. It's also worth saying that Customs doesn't require an online connection, making it something you can easily play while on the go regardless of your Wi-Fi situation.

What's Next For the Forza Series?

After a six-year break, Turn 10 finally released its Forza Motorsport reboot last month. The game performed well with critics and players. It'll likely be supported for at least a few more years before the team starts building hype for the next game in that series. In theory, 2024 would be the year we'd next see a game in the Forza Horizon series from Playground Games; however, that studio is also working on an upcoming Fable reboot. 

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Over the summer, Playground gave fans their first look at the new Fable as part of the Xbox Games Showcase, so we're likely getting close to that game's release date. Obviously, the studio could be working on both games at once, but with Motorsport being so new, fans might need to wait a bit longer than they might expect before we hear about Forza Horizon 6. Either way, FH6 will probably be the next game in the mainline series and should be released relatively soon.

Forza Customs is available now on iOS and Android devices.

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