If the CMA still decides to block this over-generous deal from Microsoft, Microsoft just needs to pull Xbox out of the UK to get the deal closed, no single country is worth sinking a deal this big over, they will eventually cave and beg Xbox to come back.

Forza Motorsport at Gamescom: Introducing Nürburgring GP, Steam Pre-Orders and PC Specs

To celebrate our presence here at gamescom in Cologne, Germany, today we revealed that the local and world-famous Nürburgring GP circuit will be available in Forza Motorsport at launch on October 10. What’s more, as part of our plan to regularly bring new content to the game after release, we are also happy to confirm the iconic 12.9-mile (20.83 km) Nordschleife will be coming in Spring 2024. Both tracks have been completely rebuilt for the Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Forza players attending gamescom are invited to the Forza Motorsport theatre experience from Thursday, August 24 through Sunday, August 27. Here you will be treated to the amazing racing action that awaits in the Builders Cup, the new single-player career mode in Forza Motorsport. We’ll be showcasing brand-new gameplay featuring a group of super-fast German sedans competing at the high-speed Mugello Circuit.

To celebrate Porsche’s 75th anniversary and their partnership with Xbox and the Forza franchise, fans are also invited to visit the Xbox booth to see a custom-wrapped 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S with 6 custom Xbox Series X consoles. 

Experience Forza Motorsport on PC

Starting today, PC players can pre-order Forza Motorsport on Steam and play up to 5 days early from October 5 by pre-purchasing the Premium Edition. With cross-play for online matchmaking and cross-save, you can play with your friends across PC and console and for the first time, continue your racing journey across Xbox Series X|S and Steam with shared progression and achievement unlocks. 

We’ve optimized Forza Motorsport to look and play great across a wide range of PCs, taking advantage of cutting-edge PC hardware and technologies with real-time ray tracing on-track and maximum performance enabled by NVIDIA DLSS 2 and AMD FSR 2.2. We will continue to optimize and improve Forza Motorsport on PC after launch. 

Forza Motorsport on PC supports native resolutions up to 4K and beyond, including ultrawide resolutions during on-track gameplay, HDR calibration, shader pre-compilation and pre-caching, DirectStorage for improved CPU loading, unlocked single-player framerates with or without V-Sync enabled, and more.  

In addition to native support for popular racing wheels from Logitech, Thrustmaster and Fanatec, Forza Motorsport supports the DirectInput API on PC. This allows players to plug in and play with a much wider range of hardware than before. There is also input remapping so you can customize the button layout of your controller, mouse and keyboard, as well as your favorite steering wheels and non-standard gamepads like flight sticks. This level of device extensibility means Forza Motorsport is accessible to more players who use custom hardware setups.  

Forza Motorsport also features rumble vibration on Xbox controllers and improved force-feedback for wheel users. The game takes advantage of advanced wheel features to display RPM, shift lights and race data on custom screens.  

Everything you need to know about Forza Motorsport on PC, including supported steering wheels and peripherals can be found in the Forza.net blog. 

See You at the Starting Line

Pre-order the Forza Motorsport Premium Edition and play up to 5 days early beginning October 5, 2023. Xbox Game Pass members (PC, Console and Ultimate), as well as Forza Motorsport Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition players, can upgrade to the Premium Add-Ons Bundle to receive early access and all other add-on content included in the Premium Edition.     

To help you decide which version of the game is best for you, check out the contents of the Forza Motorsport Standard, Deluxe, and Premium Editions below: 

Forza Motorsport at Gamescom: Introducing Nürburgring GP, Steam Pre-Orders and PC Specs - Xbox Wire

Ubisoft owes Microsoft big time

I had forgotten just how badly Ubisoft's stock had tanked. I remember a time not all that long ago when they were selling for $80+ a share. Since that time, in January 2021, they progressively fell lower and lower, to a low of $18 a share in January this year after they released a poor fiscal report for last year's Holiday quarter. Since that low of $18 in January they managed to recover to $26 before this news, and now $29 after this news. But still, even after this boost from the Xbox deal, their value is only about 1/3rd of what it was in early 2021.

Is there a gamescom thread?

Team,

Today, we’re taking another important step regarding our proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. To address the concerns about the impact of the proposed acquisition on cloud game streaming raised previously by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, we are modifying the transaction to acquire a narrower set of rights. This includes executing an agreement effective at the closing of our merger that transfers the cloud streaming rights for all current and new Activision Blizzard PC and console games released over the next 15 years to Ubisoft. Under the modified transaction, Microsoft will obtain those cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games necessary to fulfill our commitments to the European Commission and under our existing streaming agreements.

We have notified the modified transaction to the CMA and we anticipate that the CMA review processes can be completed before the 90-day extension in our acquisition agreement with Activision Blizzard expires on October 18. You can read more about this important step in this blog post from our Vice Chair and President Brad Smith.

Thank you to everyone who has devoted their time and energy in support of our acquisition. I would like to specifically call out Sarah Bond’s exceptional leadership throughout this process.

And as we continue to navigate the review process with the CMA, we remain as committed as ever to bringing the incredible benefits of the acquisition to players, creators, and the industry. Today’s developments move us one step closer to bringing the joy of gaming to everyone on the planet.

Phil

Under the modified transaction, Microsoft will obtain those cloud streaming rights for Activision Blizzard games necessary to fulfill our commitments to the European Commission and under our existing streaming agreements.

I'm reading this as the agreements with Nvidia, Boosteroid, Ubitus, etc. Still apply on a Worldwide basis (a free license to stream ABK content for 10 years). Rather than it just being EU and them having to pay Ubisoft for RoW. If that is the case then that's not bad, they should be happy with that. But it kind of screws over any Cloud company which didn't manage to get a deal with Microsoft during the process. They have to pay Ubisoft now for a WW release, with the exception of a EU release, which is still a free license for EU region only.

I believe MS is saying they do not care about Cloud streaming as much as the CMA believe they do.  This deal does not stop MS from putting all ABK games on GP.  It does not prevent them from putting their games on GP day one as MS does not have to actually make them available to stream from XCloud.  Something tells me MS is playing a different game here and they are hedging their bets that Cloud steaming is a nice feature, is not the backbone of what they are trying to accomplish and its not something they care enough about in the immediate future.