FM6 Forza Motorsport 6: Apex - Beta Release Date & Specs Released

Paul Jeffrey · Apr 28, 2016

Turn 10 Studios have today announced Forza Motorsport 6: Apex will enter open beta status on Thursday 5th May.

Forza 6: Apex marks the first foray into PC gaming for the long standing racing franchise, pitting the title against a rich field of racing games currently available to PC sim racers.

It will be an interesting experiment to see how the first attempt by Turn 10 to bring Forza to PC turns out. The studio have taken a unique approach to the move on to PC by offering Apex as a free title for users of the Windows 10 operating system.

Although somewhat sort on content in comparison to its console relatives, Apex will feature 63 vehicles and 20 track configurations across 6 unique locations. Seen as something of a toe in the water by the studio prior to full future releases of the Forza series coming to Windows and console machine in future.

"Forza Motorsport 6: Apex delivers a focused and curated single-player tour of Forza Motorsport’s best content, including authentic wheel-to-wheel action, unique automotive experiences, and constant rewards, all running on DirectX 12 at resolutions up to 4K. In the game, players will be able to dive into a new career mode anchored by a 12-event “Showcase Tour”, where players will race thrilling cars on circuits from across the globe. In addition, Apex’s new “Spotlight Series” events will challenge players with unique automotive events that will be updated on a regular basis. Along with a new set of Xbox Live achievements to earn worth 1000 gamerscore points, Apex players will find new mechanics to explore, including an all-new Race Points system that dares you to turn off the assists, develop your skills, and take on greater challenges."

As well as revealing a release date of May 5th for the game entering beta status, the studio have also confirmed continual support throughout the beta program with constant updates and eventual support for many racing wheel and pedal sets coming to the game at a later date.

Forza Motorsport 6: Apex System Requirements

Minimum

OS: Windows 10 64-bit version 1511
Processor: Intel Core i3-4170 @ 3.7 Ghz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 740/Radeon R7 250X
HD Space: 30 GB
RAM: 8 GB
VRAM: 2GB
DirectX: DirectX 12
Suggested Input: Xbox One Controller

Recommended (60fps at 1080P)

OS: Windows 10 64-bit version 1511
Processor: Intel Core i7-3820 @3.6 Ghz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 970 / Radeon R9 290X
HD Space: 30 GB
RAM: 12 GB
VRAM: 4 GB
DirectX: DirectX 12
Suggested Input: Xbox One Controller

Ideal (60fps at 4K)

OS: Windows 10 64-bit version 1511
Processor: Intel Core i7-6700k @ 4 Ghz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980ti / Radeon Fury X
HD Space: SSD + 30 GB
RAM: 16 GB
VRAM: 6+ GB
DirectX: DirectX 12
Suggested Input: Xbox One Controller

Forza Motorsport 6: Apex Release Trailer

Check out our RaceDepartment Forza Motorsport Forum for all the latest news and discussion regarding the racing franchise.

Forza Motorsport 6: Apex debuts on Windows 10 this year. Are you looking forward to playing the latest release of the hugely popular franchise? How do you think Forza will stack up alongside the wealth of PC racing titles already available? Let us know in the comments section below!

bporion · Apr 29, 2016

Do I have to apply to get it or will it come in a Windows 10 update ?

Will Mazeo · Apr 29, 2016

As much as I try to not care about graphics Forza just looks so good, the colors are great

Michael Watts · Apr 29, 2016

Oh I see... release the crap to the console owners and the sim to the PC guys.. I'll stick with pCars, thankyou. Only company with balls enough to release a sim to Console. Assetta Corsa phoned in their game. When they start getting serious about DLC's I might look at them, but Forza's console game is horrible when it comes to physics, reminds me of pCars cold tire model.

Blimey · Apr 29, 2016

Almost the same amount of content as AC

Eugene Abramoff · Apr 29, 2016

With this recommended PC specs, the graphics are better be 1 to 1 with the trailer, so detailed that you can see the "orange peel" on the paint at all times. 30 GB too, damn, for what? I understand when an open world game with huge map needs that much, but a game with few circuits; just cant really put my head around it, not complaining.

SnappyDEe · Apr 29, 2016

Things this title needs:
-triple screen capability
-adjustable FOV and seating position
-wheel support (for multiple wheels, but my guess that it will be very proprietary and players will need a Thrustmaster TX)
-Porsche!

Rob · Apr 29, 2016

Michael Watts said:
Oh I see... release the crap to the console owners and the sim to the PC guys.. I'll stick with pCars, thankyou. Only company with balls enough to release a sim to Console. Assetta Corsa phoned in their game. When they start getting serious about DLC's I might look at them, but Forza's console game is horrible when it comes to physics, reminds me of pCars cold tire model.

I saw that too Michael. What a freaking sham, Microsoft. Maybe you can fix your XBO Live issues before giving sh*t away.

(As if that's anything new to the "hook 'em & screw 'em" corporate philosophy of the world's biggest bleeding heart Founder).

Can't wait for the PC crowd to lambast Turn 10, even though the game is free.

It is literally like driving on ice with a wee bit of traction and a dayummm fine lookin' car. Regarding Assetto, we will have to agree to disagree. They probably know more about physics than SMS and Turn 10 combined. Give me one track and one car with the perfect handling model and I'll be happy for a long long time.

Nick Gregory · Apr 29, 2016

Suggested Input: Xbox One Controller

Can't use my wheel? I'll stick to what I have already.

Jake Fangio · Apr 29, 2016

No wheel support.I'm out.

Metalogic · Apr 29, 2016

Jake Fangio said:
No wheel support.I'm out.

True 10 have stated that they do intend to add wheel support later

Brownninja97 · Apr 29, 2016

Eugene Abramoff said:
With this recommended PC specs, the graphics are better be 1 to 1 with the trailer, so detailed that you can see the "orange peel" on the paint at all times. 30 GB too, damn, for what? I understand when an open world game with huge map needs that much, but a game with few circuits; just cant really put my head around it, not complaining.

100% hidden content either through microtransitions or flat out dlc.

Metalogic · Apr 29, 2016

Eugene Abramoff said:
With this recommended PC specs, the graphics are better be 1 to 1 with the trailer, so detailed that you can see the "orange peel" on the paint at all times. 30 GB too, damn, for what? I understand when an open world game with huge map needs that much, but a game with few circuits; just cant really put my head around it, not complaining.

The thing I found most surprising about the specs was the amount of recommended RAM - for 1080p and above 12-16GB RAM! Can't think of hardly any games that need that much RAM. Not issue for me (I have 16GB), but a lot of users probably only have 8GB.

Also for 1080p an NVIDIA GeForce 970 / Radeon R9 290X with 4GB VRAM - I wonder if this means my gaming laptop, which has an Nvidia 970M GPU, but "only" 3GB vRAM (and this is the most common gaming laptop GPU) will be able to run it at 1080p?

Also, I'm never quite sure about what the laptop-equivalent CPUs are - an Intel Core i7-3820 @3.6 Ghz is recommended for 1080p, I have an Intel quad core i7-4720HQ @2.6Ghz, but it "turbo boosts" to 3.6Ghz, so would that be enough?

I understand all the caveats people have about Forza Apex, and I don't think this will give anything like the driving experience of "real" racing sims (i.e. Assetto Corsa, Automobilitsa, RFactor 2, or my favourite, RaceRoom Racing Experience), but I'd still be very interested to try this out, for when I feel like playing something more casual and also, of course, for the visual car porn.

It may also have the affect of getting more PC users interested in getting into racing sims in general in the first place, than may otherwise be the case - I doubt there would have been so much interest in Project Cars and Assetto Corsa in the console market if it wasn't for Forza and Gran Truismo players wanting to move onto something more serious. Of course I could be utterly wrong and there is potentially the "nightmare" scenario of Forza on PC (especially bearing in mind Microsoft is likely to move on from Apex to a fully-fledged Forza game on PC eventually, assuming Forza Apex will be popular, which I think it will) dominating so much that it makes it difficult for other racing sim developers to compete.

Brownninja97 · Apr 29, 2016

Metalogic said:
The thing I found most surprising about the specs was the amount of recommended RAM - for 1080p and above 12-16GB RAM! Can't think of hardly any games that need that much RAM. Not issue for me (I have 16GB), but a lot of users probably only have 8GB.

Also for 1080p an NVIDIA GeForce 970 / Radeon R9 290X with 4GB VRAM - I wonder if this means my gaming laptop, which has an Nvidia 970M GPU, but "only" 3GB vRAM (and this is the most common gaming laptop GPU) will be able to run it at 1080p?

Also, I'm never quite sure about what the laptop-equivalent CPUs are - an Intel Core i7-3820 @3.6 Ghz is recommended for 1080p, I have an Intel quad core i7-4720HQ @2.6Ghz, but it "turbo boosts" to 3.6Ghz, so would that be enough?

I understand all the caveats people have about Forza Apex, and I don't think this will give anything like the driving experience of "real" racing sims (i.e. Assetto Corsa, Automobilitsa, RFactor 2, or my favourite, RaceRoom Racing Experience), but I'd still be very interested to try this out, for when I feel like playing something more casual and also, of course, for the visual car porn.

It may also have the affect of getting more PC users interested in getting into racing sims in general in the first place, than may otherwise be the case - I doubt there would have been so much interest in Project Cars and Assetto Corsa in the console market if it wasn't for Forza and Gran Truismo players wanting to move onto something more serious. Of course I could be utterly wrong and there is potentially the "nightmare" scenario of Forza on PC (especially bearing in mind Microsoft is likely to move on from Apex to a fully-fledged Forza game on PC eventually, assuming Forza Apex will be popular, which I think it will) dominating so much that it makes it difficult for other racing sim developers to compete.

i was forced a while back to upgrade from 8gb to 12gb, when sh** hit the fan on BF2 or planetside 2 then it would start overflowing and we all know that it destroys your performance. Emulators think their google chrome when comes to ram.

A 3820 is an odd choice because in benchmarks the 3770(before OC'ed) will beat it as it has better performance per core. In several games a 3570 would be it very close to it. I harder think this is gonna be too cpu intensive especially as its ported from a console that has a very poor cpu clocked very low.

The biggest issue for performance right now however is the microsoft store solution, its pathetic, its shamefully bad as in drm which made the game perform worse and then some complete fool though apex needed denuvo, WHY? ITS FREE. So now we have two layers of drm, windows udp or whatever its called which multiple devs and modders have called out for being a load of tosh and then there is the second layer of drm which is known to break perfectly bug free games and if there are bugs then we cant fix them because drm stops us. literal bollocks, this means they spent a stupid amount of time on getting the game to work with two levels of horrid drm, steamworks takes like 1 hour at most to be compatible. They could have saved money and time which could be spent on wheel support.

Sorry for the rant but im pretty annoyed at how incompetent some of the decision makers are