Microsoft and Porsche announce multi-year Forza partnership

Porsche and Microsoft have announced a six-year partnership to collaborate on a range of co-branded initiatives for Porsche and the Forza franchise at the New York International Auto Show to be held from April 14-23, 2017. 

Alan Hartman, Studio Head at Microsoft’s Turn 10 Studios, said that the premium partnership with Porsche is as a result of their shared passion for sports cars and motorsport, and the multi-year partnership is starting off strong with ForzaRC.

“Porsche has a rich history of motorsport which combined with Turn 10’s unrivaled position in digital racing entertainment has formed the basis for a new and exciting form of seamlessly integrated racing entertainment,” he said.

Both 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.

The partnership kicks off with open registration for Porsche’s esports sponsorship debut in Forza Racing Championship Season 3: The Porsche Cup – the most inclusive racing esports program and home to the largest online racing community in gaming which begins May 1.

“By having Microsoft as our partner, we have the opportunity to take the pleasure of driving a Porsche and making it an experience in the virtual world,” says Detlev von Platen, Member of the Executive Board responsible for Sales and Marketing at Porsche AG.

“Racing games and esports connect the real and virtual worlds and enable us to gain further access to the young target group. It means that they can develop a passion for Porsche even before buying their first sports car”.

The Forza Horizon 3 Porsche Car Pack has also been released exclusively on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs featuring an exciting lineup of Porsche cars for 2016’s best-selling racing game Forza Horizon 3.

The Forza franchise is the largest and most inclusive online racing community in gaming with over four million players of all skill levels competing for glory each month. It also builds on the success of ForzaRC’s debut with two seasons in 2016, which drew nearly one billion impressions.

The Forza Racing Championship 2017 New York Invitational presented by Porsche will be held on April 15-16 at Microsoft’s flagship store, showcasing 18 of ForzaRC’s Elite players from around the world, and a Drift competition between two of ForzaRC’s top drifters.

However, the New York Invitational is just the beginning for ForzaRC in 2017, after which Season 3 players can participate in two different competitions in Forza Motorsport 6 for elite drivers and Forza Horizon 3 for casual players.

Players will get the chance to race in a wide variety of Porsche models over four weeks of intense competition, culminating in a finals event at a special location where winners will take home $100,000 in cash prizes.