Forza team will remove loot crates from Motorsport 7, avoid paid tokens in Horizon 4

This year we’ve seen many studios begin removing loot crates and related systems from their games. The latest is Turn 10 Studios, creators of the Forza series of racing games.

In a post today on the official Turn 10 website, studio head Alan Hartman says that his team is making the decision “inspired by the brilliant passion of the Forza community.”

The process will begin with Forza Motorsport 7, which was released in October 2017. That game featured prize crates, which could be purchased with in-game cash. Each one could contain cosmetic upgrades, experience boosts, or one of dozens of exotic cars that would otherwise remain locked away. Hartman says that his team has begun the process of removing these crates from the game.

“Our players’ expectations of games and their experiences have changed over the years,” Hartman said. “You’ve been tireless in sharing your feedback about the game, letting us know what you like and what you’d like to see improved. Along the way we’ve done our best to listen to, absorb, and most importantly, act upon that feedback.

“One major area of discussion for the team has been prize crates. While we’ve never charged money for prize crates in Forza Motorsport 7, their presence in the game has continued to be a source of controversy. The overwhelming feedback has been that this system feels out of place in the game. After careful consideration, we have decided to completely remove prize crates from Forza Motorsport 7.”

It will take some time to complete the transition, Hartman explained, and in the interim more than 100 previously locked cars have been unlocked. Furthermore, the crates up for sale today “offer no competitive advantage” to any players.

Hartman also vowed that Forza Tokens, which in previous iterations of the Forza series could be purchased for real-world money and exchanged in-game for specific cars, will not appear in Forza Motorsport 7 or the upcoming Forza Horizon 4.

Announced at this year’s E3 in Los Angeles, Forza Horizon 4 is set in Britain. The game will cycle through multiple seasons over its lifespan, giving players new scenery but also completely new driving conditions. The game is expected to launch on Oct. 2, 2018 for Xbox One.

In other news, today Microsoft announced that Forza Horizon 2 would be added to the Games With Gold program, and made free-to-play for Xbox Live Gold members starting next month.