More often than not, the car and tech industries come together to create amenities for customers, whether it be sat-nav systems or other such technologies. However, when it comes to firms like Microsoft and its assortment of game-developing studios, partnerships regarding use of car models in-game also pop up. That's exactly what happened this week.
In a blog post on Xbox Wire, Alan Hartman, the head of Forza developer Turn 10 Studios, revealed that the studio and the German car manufacturer have entered a six-year "premium partnership". What it translates to is "a suite of co-branded initiatives for Porsche and the Forza franchise", starting with a Forza Horizon 3 Porsche Car Pack available for Xbox One and Windows 10 PC owners, and priced at $6.99. The pack brings into the game the 2017 Porsche Panamera Turbo, 2016 911 GT3 RS and Cayman GT4, 1995 911 GT2, 1973 911 Carrera RS, 1960 718 RS 60 and 1955 550A Spyder.
As season three of the Forza Racing Championship (dubbed 'The Porsche Cup') is about to kick off, registration is also open for the now Porsche-sponsored esports initiative. Those interested must have a Gfinity account linked with their Xbox Live Gamertag, in supported regions, and can log in here.
Regarding the content which will be provided, Hartman also stated that:
The partners are working to develop and launch new ways to combine driving experiences, racing schools, and dominant motorsport successes with Forza’s regular cadence of high-quality game experiences, content, and events. Our six-year partnership is starting off strong with ForzaRC, and we can’t wait to show everyone what else we have planned.
Detlev von Platen, member of the Executive Board responsible for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG said that this new partnership would allow them to "take the pleasure of driving a Porsche and making it an experience in the virtual world".
Though the third season of Forza Racing Championship starts May 1, Microsoft is holding a separate event in New York on April 15 and 16. Presented by Porsche at the software giant's Fifth Avenue flagship store, it will showcase 18 of the top ForzaRC Elite drivers worldwide, competing for a chance to win $25,000 in cash prizes.
Following this event, players will be able to participate in two separate competitions, one in Forza Motorsport 6 for "Elite drivers" and one in Forza Horizon 3 for casual players. This will unfold over the course of four weeks, at the end of which a finals event will give the best players a chance to go home with $100,000 in cash prizes.
Source: Xbox Wire
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