Forza 4 getting Porsche expansion

Forza 4 will add a Porsche expansion this May, after finally reaching an agreement with EA on the car licensing.

March 5, 2012 3:15 PM6

Despite a previous problem striking a deal, Forza Motorsport 4 will get Porsches after all. The expansion, due this May, will include 30 Porsches in all — 23 returning from Forza 3, and seven entirely new cars. It will also bring a Porsche career mode and 10 new achievements for 250G.

The announcement is surprising given a somewhat contentious history. EA holds a licensing deal with the manufacturer, and has to sign off on other racing games including the iconic cars. Despite months of talks, EA “couldn’t see their way towards collaborating again,” according to creative director Dan Greenwalt.

But Eurogamer reports that the talks continued well after the game’s release. “When we announced that Porsche wasn’t going to be in Forza 4, we didn’t stop talking,” said Greenwalt. “We announced it because we could no longer get it into the game – production-wise, it was too late.

“We kept talking to Porsche, and we kept talking to EA – no one wants to take Porsche away from the fans. We kept talking and talking until we found an agreeable situation, and now it’s win-win. We’ve got Porsche coming into the game in a big way. EA’s satisfied, Microsoft’s satisfied and Porsche’s satisfied.”

Greenwalt didn’t commit to how this could impact the future of the franchise, however. He said licensing deals are “rarely long term,” so it’s hard to say if the next Forza game will have to renegotiate all over again. With the just-announced Forza Horizon on the way, hopefully fans won’t have to wait for DLC.