Forza Motorsport went on and tweeted an expert-level driving tip question in the IndyCar Series realm. Hey, how do we go fast in circles? But the replies… oh dear. The internet certainly became a battleground with arguments raging between angry Microsoft-employees-for-the-layoffs and angry players-for-the-game. Wild.
The original tweet was just a simple question with an elegantly captured slide of an IndyCar on the track. All smooth! Then the gamers hit the roof. Randy Magruder had his say, “Um, switch to a supported game whose staff isn’t getting laid off? Like Automobilista 2 or iRacing?” OOF. Right out the gate. That set the tone for everything.
And the voices kept piling up. The Play Games Not Companies replied, “Every time you post an update I get sad! I’m going to miss you guys and girls.” They even asked them to fix a cloud save issue on Forza 6 Apex for Windows 11. I mean, fair, that’s probably pretty annoying. Japan Hates Xbox came through with, “Play GT7 instead, an actual good game from a successful studio not the zombie of turn 10 who just got half of its Staff laid off by evil Microsoft.” Damn!
Then GeheimPolizist Bretschneider comes in with, “Yeah, never trust Microsoft for anything. They’ve shut down FM🤷” So clearly, there’s some major frustration brewing within the community. It’s not just about the game; it’s about the whole situation with the studio and Microsoft. People are feeling that type of way.
But wait, there were actually some racing tips in there too! Mixed in with the drama. DammitBreezus laid down some real talk: “The blue suggestion line isn’t always the fastest. Manual transmission is quicker than automatic if you have the timing down. Tires depend on length of the race and how many turns there are.” That’s actually useful info for anyone trying to get better at Forza.
More interesting was Wyre’s complete opposite strategy: “Take the widest line and brake as late as you can manage. Try to be on throttle as much as possible. Don’t use TCS either. You need to learn throttle control instead of the car cutting out on corner exits.” See, that’s the kind of response you’d expect from a racing game community. But there were so many other things that buried it.
Nick Chronic then articulated all people felt about credit-grind: “why is this game still a grindfest for credits, do you want people to play this game or what? i`m barely getting 60K an hour for racing. GT7 1.6mil an hour=more fun.” Pretty much a common theme I’ve heard with recent Forza games. Economy seems off compared to other racing games.
ESV_Phoenix shared some serious tuning advice: “Download @ESV_Green’s tune for either the Chevy or Honda for a start. And maybe then stop breaking so early and driving them at half throttle.” That’s actually super helpful if you’re trying to compete in the IndyCar series. Community tunes can make a huge difference.
Some responses were just absurd. EZ said, “No right turns on ovals remember that.” Which, if you know about IndyCar, is technically true for most ovals. Stephen Hamill joked, “If you use rasmussen’s livery everyone else has to get out of your way.” Very specific reference racing fans would get.
But the overall tone of the responses was frustration with the current state of Forza Motorsport and concern about the future of Turn 10 Studios post the Microsoft layoffs. It’s insane how a simple question about racing tips kind of evolved into an entire forced questioning of the game’s future and player dissatisfaction.
It’s weird because Forza Motorsport is still getting content updates and stuff. And yay, IndyCar is new content! But players are upset with some aspects of the game for sure, and the news about the layoffs has injected a big concern for the future of the franchise. Developers and community managers are surely on thin ice.
Interesting thing was how divided the responses were; you had some people giving genuine racing advice, others complaining about specific game issues, and then a whole bunch of other people just blowing up about the studio situation. It’s like the community can’t decide whether they want to help improve the game or throw in the towel and ditch it.
I kind of wonder if Forza Motorsport social media staff expected this kind of response when they posted that tweet. Probably not. They probably had good intentions. Something always comes up in gaming communities, you see.
At the end of the day, what’s clear is that Forza Motorsport players strongly feel about the game right now. However, there are some who are still willing to give legitimate racing tips and share skills for anyone to improve. But plenty are furious about the game’s economy, worried about the studio’s future, and comparing it pretty unfavorably to other racing games like GT7.
I guess it’ll be interesting to see how Turn 10 and Microsoft gonna address these community concerns from now on. The racing tips were useful but the underlying issues that players are raising seem far more essential to keep community engaged. The IndyCar Series is for now, so at least some players are throwing dirt on how to get the best out of it amidst all the other drama.
