In brief: Forza is adding another twist to the racing genre with a new Battle Royale mode called The Eliminator, which will see up to 72 players driving (and colliding) in open-world Britain as they tackle head-to-head races in a shrinking arena.
Gamers wishing for more Battle Royale in their lives had their prayers answered today with Forza's take on the formula. We've previously seen Civilization 6 make a surprising entry into BR, and now one of the most popular racing franchise is having a go as well.
Come to think of it, multiplayer racing in Forza's beautiful open-world never made a strong case for civilized, disciplined driving (most racing games usually don't), but the new Eliminator mode could potentially unleash even more chaos, fun, and frustration, as 72 players drive towards the same goal of winning the final race and entering the 'Eliminati.'
A complete Eliminator session should usually last for about 20 minutes or so, and given the game's healthy online playerbase, expect many (if not all) of the 72 slots to fill fairly quickly.
Jumping into the new mode puts all participants in a 1965 Mini Cooper and players, initially scattered throughout the map in typical BR fashion, upgrade their car by finding Car Drop locations or winning head-to-head races with another player who's up for the challenge. Losers in these races get disqualified from the round, while winners can either choose to steal their opponent's car (pink slip style) or upgrade to another one.
The map, meanwhile, continues to shrink periodically in the background until the final race commences, forcing all remaining players in the arena to head for the finish line pinned on the mini-map.
Forza's 'The Eliminator' BR mode is headed to Xbox and PC players today as part of its Series 17 update, which also includes a new mini-campaign and the much-awaited return of Toyota. Beginning with the 1998 Supra RZ, players will be able to drive other Toyota (and Lexus) models in future updates to the game.