Forza Motorsport’s Update 5 is cool, but Update 6 will be the real deal

Early this year, Turn 10 promised to improve Forza Motorsport in three key areas, one of which was its controversial car progression system. Less than a month later, the car progression revamp was outlined, but the studio also noted that it wouldn’t be released until Update 6 hits.

In the interim, we just received Forza Motorsport‘s Update 5, and though it has introduced the long-anticipated Nürburgring Nordschleife track, the simple fact that there’s no car progression revamp makes this release feel somewhat deflating. Generally speaking however, the community response to Update 5 is broadly positive, thanks to the new track and some performance improvements.

Can Forza Motorsport’s Update 5 tide players over to Update 6?

As is usually the case with Forza Motorsport‘s major monthly content updates, we’re getting an assortment of (temporary) new events and cars to keep things interesting, with Nürburgring Nordschleife being the obvious headlining feature. The track is coming into the game in two separate layouts: Nordschleife proper and Nordschleife combined with the GP raceway. As Nürburgring is a fairly prestigious historical track, it is a very important addition to the game and should keep players interested for some time.

All Car Pass owners have four more all-new vehicles to look forward to over the course of the season:

• February 14: Lotus Type 35 (1965)
• February 21: Cadillac ATS-V.R #3 (2015)
• February 28: Ford Mustang TA #98 Breathless Pro Racing (2018)
• March 6: Audi TT RS Coupe (2020)

And, naturally, there’s a new assortment of Spotlight Vehicles to choose from:

• February 14 – 21: BMW M2 (2023)
• February 21 – 28: Audi RS7 Sportback (2013)
• February 28 – March 6: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (2011)
• March 6 – 13: Porsche 911 Turbo S (2014)

It’s a reasonably exciting assortment of vehicles from many different categories, and it should make for an interesting racing season across both solo and multiplayer events, most of which are now themed after the German automotive industry.

Sadly, the shadow of Update 6 does hover over these goodies in a way. Update 6 will make it so that Forza Motorsport‘s car progression system is almost entirely optional, allowing players to not only choose any given car upgrade from level 1, but also to purchase the upgrade currency using earnable Credits. This change should, in theory, make Forza Motorsport much more of a pick-up-and-play sort of racing experience, as players won’t need to grind levels for every vehicle they want to race in.

If Nürburgring Nordschleife itself and the assortment of new cars aren’t enough to keep you entertained in Forza Motorsport until Update 6 hits, we’d recommend looking into the game’s fascinating car colour community. If nothing else, it should make tweaking your car’s looks a bit more interesting.