Forza Motorsport 5 is a cinematic automotive journey starring the world’s greatest cars and tracks. Built from the ground up to take advantage of Xbox One and the vast power of the cloud, no game better delivers the wide-eyed thrill of racing.

This update will bring some momentous feature additions to Forza 5, including new race modes such as drag racing and multiplayer “Tag.” In addition, this update will bring some important adjustments to the Forza Motorsport 5 economy, including increasing the amount of credits earned for racing and lowering the prices of the best cars in the game. With the update currently in certification and awaiting final release, here’s a detailed look at the changes coming your way very soon.

Drag Racing

First up, we’re adding two significant game modes to Forza 5: drag racing and multiplayer “Tag.” Drag racing in Forza Motorsport 5 is the ultimate test of car tuning, reflexes, and pure power, and you’ll be able to take your favorite drag-tuned rides to the Airfield track and test their mettle on quarter-mile, half-mile, and full-mile drag strips. Drag racing will be available in both Free Play and in Multiplayer game modes.

Multiplayer is where drag racing comes alive in Forza Motorsport 5. No need to argue which car is quickest – grab your friends and your meanest dragsters and settle the issue the way it was meant to be settled: on the strip. In addition to support for drag racing for up to 16 players in a single lobby via one-on-one heats, we’re also adding support for eight-player drag races, where all eight cars are on track at the same time on quarter-mile, half-mile, or full-mile strips. At the launch of the content update, we will have two drag racing hoppers available online: Ultimate Drag (for tuned cars of any class) and Ultimate Drag RWD (rear-wheel drive only, any class is eligible).

Tag Mode

The other big feature addition to Forza Motorsport 5 is the introduction of Tag. Tag is about as far as you can get from the traditional racing and drifting found in traditional Forza online competition. In short, Tag is about pure automotive mayhem, full of action-packed driving, huge wrecks, and lots of strategy. Tag is only available in multiplayer in Forza 5 and comes in three distinct flavors:

• Keep the It: One player begins the match as “It.” The goal is for the “It” player to keep “It” status for as long as possible. “It” status transfers each time someone makes contact with the “It” player. Once the match timer has completed, the player with the most “It” time wins.
• Tag Virus – One player begins the match as “It.” Each time an “It” player makes contact with another car, the “It” status spreads like a virus. The last uninfected player standing wins the match.
• Pass the It: Similar to “Keep the It”, one player begins a “Pass the It” match with “It” status. “It” status transfers each time someone makes contact with the “It.” At the end of the match, the player with the least amount of “It” time wins.

When the update goes live, we’ll have three multiplayer hoppers available for “Tag” fans: S-Class Virus, A-Class Keep the It, and A-Class Pass the It.

Economy Changes

This content update includes the first wave of adjustments to the Forza 5 economy, which we initially announced in early December. These adjustments are based on player behavior within the game, as well as feedback received from the Forza Motorsport 5 community. First of all, we are dramatically increasing the rate at which credits are being earned in the game. For example, driver level payouts have more than doubled (from just over 15,000 credits to 35,000 credits). Players using average difficulty settings will also see approximately a 60 percent increase in credits earned per hour of play -- a number that can dramatically increase by upping the Drivatar difficulty and assist settings used during races. Wherever your skill level lies, however, you’ll be earning more credits per hour in Forza Motorsport 5 to spend on the cars that matter most to you.

In addition to increasing the payout, we have also reduced the price of the best cars in the game. In fact, the cumulative price of all on-disc cars in the game has decreased by 45 percent. To use a specific example, the Ferrari 250 GTO, one of the most expensive cars in Forza Motorsport 5, will cost 2 million credits after the content update, down from 6 million credits when the game launched. By comparison, that same car cost 10 million credits in Forza Motorsport 4.

By increasing the amount of credits available to players and lowering the prices of cars, it’s never been easier to earn the best cars in the game; in fact, thanks to these economy updates, Forza 5 will be able to earn their dream cars in approximately one-fifth the amount of time it took to earn those same cars in Forza 4. Naturally the most exclusive cars in the game will still take some strategy (and some saving) to acquire, but these changes mean that even the fastest cars in the game are now within every Forza 5 player’s reach.

Forza Rewards

As long as we’re talking about the economy, it’s worth reminding fans about Forza Rewards, our loyalty program where players can earn in-game gifts each month just for playing Forza games. With Forza Rewards, Forza players are ranked by “Tiers” based on a number of factors across different Forza games. Since the launch of Forza Motorsport 5, Forza Rewards has gifted more than 500 billion in-game credits to Forza 5 players. This month, we dramatically increased the number of Forza Reward credits in Forza Motorsport 5; a Tier 1 player, for example, earned 1 million credits while a Tier 6 player earned 6 million credits. So, if you haven’t redeemed your December rewards yet, or you just want to see what Forza Rewards is all about, head over to the Forza Rewards site and find out what you are missing.

Wheel Improvements

Finally, this content update will add various improvements across a number of different aspects of the game, including some upgrades for those playing Forza 5 with force feedback wheels like the Thrustmaster TX Racing Wheel Ferrari 458 Italia Edition. With the update, players will be able to change the max degree of rotation (up to 270 degrees) within the game, and we have increased the maximum amount of available force feedback for wheels.