In the past, we could expect a new "Forza Motorsport" every two years like clockwork. But Turn 10's sim racer has been on a sort of hiatus since the release of "Forza Motorsport 7" in 2017; at Microsoft's "Xbox Series X" game showcase event on July 23, we finally Motorsport 8" sneak peek.

Or so we thought. The next installment in this franchise will lose the number and become just "Forza Motorsport". With the loss of the number, we look forward to a reboot and a fresh start for this long-running series.

So far, we only have a one-minute teaser trailer for the new "Forza Motorsport". Nevertheless, we've broken it down and surveyed it to summarize everything we know about Microsoft's upcoming sim racer.

You can check out the Forza Motorsport debut trailer here:

If we were to follow the former Forza Motorsport schedule, the new game would have been out last year. However, Turn 10 has a different schedule these days, and we will have to wait a little longer for the next installment.

How long? From the trailer shown at the Microsoft event, it will probably be after this year. Nowhere in the video is there any mention, let alone a date of 2020, suggesting that the next Forza Motorsport will not be ready for the launch of the Xbox Series X, nor for the upcoming holiday season.

Beyond that, no one really knows; in December, Turn 10 creative director Chris Esaki announced during the Forza Monthly live show that the upcoming "Forza Motorsport" had recently received its first studio-wide playtest Esaki said, "The overall product and its direction will be a great experience, very different from what we've done before," suggesting a shift in focus and game design from the previous seven titles

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About eight months passed between this update on the status of the game and the release of the first trailer. Perhaps 2021 will be the year we get to play the reborn "Forza Motorsport" and "Gran Turismo 7," a classic showdown between two of the biggest names in racing simulation on consoles. Nevertheless, PC players will be pleased to know that, like other Xbox exclusives and unlike "GT7," the new "Forza Motorsport" will be playable on Windows.

From the first glimpse we get in the first trailer, the new "Forza Motorsport" will be the first game in this franchise to focus exclusively on motorsports. In a video released shortly after Microsoft's July 23 event, Esaki calls the new "Forza Motorsport" a "reimagining of the franchise."

The video is a "reimagining of the franchise.

The video incorporates scenes of half-dismembered racing cars in a garage, crews and drivers scurrying about, a wall of screens monitoring activity on the track, and, interestingly, many fake sponsors and logos.

That last part may sound inconsequential, but it may give us a hint of what Turn 10 is trying to introduce in its next project. Racing fans will be interested in a new addition to this year's F1 2020, an experience called My Team.

Reminiscent of what we witnessed in the "Forza" trailer, "F1 2020" has a number of fake sponsors, and signing up with them can get your team funded; Codemasters' latest F1 title also has an extensive branding suite, Given the green and black motif of the fictional club depicted in the trailer, branding may also play a role in Forza's next action.

Of course, this is a reach and Turn 10 has not revealed anything about this, but it will be interesting to see if the reboot of Forza Motorsport will expand team management to complement the on-track gameplay. Imagine leading your own racing team and controlling every aspect of its operation. It would certainly explain the drastic change in focus that Esaki had announced at the end of last year.

But what about the simulation itself? Well, Esaki also touched a bit on the enhancements to Turn 10's physics engine, Forzatech, a few months ago, listing the areas where the development team aimed to improve handling and car behavior for the next installment. The tire and tire pressure models have been redesigned so that heat and atmospheric pressure will affect not only engine power, but also the contact between the road surface and the rubber. Grip levels dynamically change with each corner during a race. Suspension modeling has also been changed.

Considering all of this, the next "Forza Motorsport" is likely to be a reboot in the most authentic sense, on and off the track. According to the studio, more details on what we can expect from the new title will be revealed as 2020 approaches.

As for what "Forza Motorsport" will actually look like, we don't know much yet; according to Turn 10, the trailer was produced in-engine and the game will run at native 4K resolution and 60 frames per second on the Xbox Series X and that the game will run at native 4K resolution and 60 frames per second on the Xbox Series X. Ray tracing can also be seen in many scenes in the trailer, especially in the scene where the helmet visor shows reflections of the surrounding garage.

But that is all we know at this stage. The trailer shows several striking visuals, including the engine compartment of the Mazda Lola B12/80 prototype and the crew's reflection in the side of the Apollo Intensa Emozione racecar. Similarly, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is featured in this trailer, and the dust, smoke, and dirt dancing around the track and the rays of light coming through the trees that line the iconic Corkscrew are stunning.

This is all we know about the upcoming "Forza Motorsport," with only a one-minute trailer released as a bridge until Turn 10 releases more information. It seems certain to bring a change of direction to the franchise, and its name is certainly the most obvious hint. However, there are still many questions.

How much of the car PG progression system from the former "Forza" games will be reflected in the new one? It will also be interesting to see how the team has evolved with regard to car customization, tuning, and aftermarket upgrades. While "Forza Motorsport" once defined the customization of the racing genre, that aspect has stagnated over the course of the series. And what about much-needed features such as dynamic time and weather?

Indeed, all of these questions are waiting to be answered, especially since some believe that the name change may be part of the series' transition to a long-term service model. Nevertheless, if one has been wondering where "Forza Motorsport" was headed since the seventh installment received lukewarm reviews from fans and critics alike, it seems unlikely that Turn 10 will rest on its laurels, at least this time around. We can't wait to hear more.