Don’t you find the Forza Hub app and system, specific to the entire ecosystem of the franchise, terribly lacking?
For those who didn’t know, since FM5 - FH2 (2014), the FORZA license has developed a rewards system as well as a full-fledged application allowing you to follow your evolution over the games and years.
Each title, except the first Forza motorsport 1 on original Xbox, was associated to your account and you could follow your progress through several items: cars owned, kilometers driven, races won… All of this was done through explicit diagrams that allowed you to follow your own evolution through all the Forza games.
This tracking - especially the loyalty of players within the franchise from 2007 to 2021 - allowed them to identify themselves in the large community that gathers the pro-Forza.
Each of these criteria, when accomplished (e.g.: driving 1000km in FH4), was worth a certain number of points, which could be considered as XP. The accumulation of these points is translated into different levels (from 1 to 15). You could compare yourself with your friends and observe their stats on each game or on the whole.
That was the Forza Hub.
Note about Rewards: this rewards system, linked to your progression through the tiers of your ForzaHub, created in 2014 too allowed for a monthly distribution of a sum of credits … on each of your Forza titles! In a way the reward for your loyalty with the franchise and your many efforts on the games for years. For example : I am level 10, I get 125.000 Cr. / title. I haven’t even started FM3 yet and I already have money waiting for me in the mailbox. What an absolutely brilliant idea, which makes you want to invest!
I discovered the franchise with Motorsport 4, which was a real joy to go through, as I’m passionate about car racing. Then, on a birthday I got Horizon 4 and enjoyed the open world driving in stunning graphics. That’s when I discovered the Forza Hub and all its tricks. And it made me want to climb the ladder, to go through all the old titles I missed, with each time + starting credits thanks to the rewards. In short, a well-oiled system that makes the player want to invest in the Forza series, the feeling of belonging to a large community of players and car enthusiasts.
In 2020, the data tracking starts to fail on the ForzaHub side, I open tickets to the support during the year to explain myself but I am told that the problem will be solved, patience. Mumbo jumbo. In 2021, it is announced the end of 1. the forza Hub 2. the whole rewards system.
I’ve worked so hard to get this done, and it’s gone in a fraction of a second. What a waste.
So why gentlemen, why?
It’s 2023 and loyalty doesn’t pay a penny anymore (check with your phone companies… new subscriber promo, new subscription promo). What counts are NEW subscriptions. The gamepass.