‘Forza Horizon 3’ Blizzard Mountain Expansion Goes Snow Rally Racing In December
The first Forza Horizon 3 expansion was officially announced for Xbox One and Windows 10 owners on Monday by developer Turn 10 Studios. The Blizzard Mountain add-on is coming this December and takes racers to an all-new experience in the franchise to tackle extreme cold weather conditions with some rally racing style events.
Blizzard Mountain will launch December 13 as part of the $35 Forza Horizon 3 Expansion Pass. It will also be sold separately, presumably for $20, though Microsoft has not made that official yet.
This Forza Horizon 3 expansion is similar to the Storm Island expansion for Forza Horizon 2 in that it takes players away from the normal confines of the game into a more extreme setting. In this case, players will race away to a “mountain paradise for car fans, full of adventurous terrain and challenging driving conditions. New areas like the extreme sports snow park and a massive frozen lake make this the ultimate snowy playground for players’ favorite vehicles. In addition, players will find bonus boards to smash, beauty spots to enjoy, and a brand new hidden Barn Find vehicle.”
The expansion will add 50 new events and challenges for Forza Horizon 3 players to compete in along with 28 new Xbox LIVE Achievements worth 500 Gamerscore points. Some of the new events include rally style Hill Climb and Descent events. There is also a new Blizzard event, which currently does not have much in the way of details but everything will be covered in snow.
In addition to the new events, Forza Horizon 3 will receive new Bucket List, Blueprint and Rivals events to try out. There are also new Bonus Boards for players to smash their cars through.
The Forza franchise has done snow-filled tracks before to be sure, but this promises to be something different. The Storm Island expansion, for example, introduced tropical storms and a thick fog to the game’s weather engine. Blizzard type conditions are presumably included with the Forza Horizon 3 expansion along with plenty of ice. What other cold weather challenges await remains to be seen.
In addition to the Barn Find vehicle, Blizzard Mountain will add seven new vehicles to the game including the 2016 Ford GYMKHANA 9 Focus RS RX featured in the image up top, plus the 2016 Nissan Titan Warrior Concept. They will be joined by the following collection of rally cars both old and new.
- 1965 Ford F-100 Flareside Abatti Racing Trophy Truck
- 1975 Lancia Stratos HF Group 4
- 1985 Lancia Delta S4 Group B
- 2016 RJ Anderson #37 Polaris RZR-Rockstar Energy Pro 2 Truck
- 2016 Subaru #199 WRX STI VT15r Rally Car
You can check out the complete descriptions for each of the new rides in the announcement post at the official Forza Motorsport site or Xbox Wire. There’s no mention whether the new vehicles will also bring new vehicle upgrades as part of the additional content. Since rally style cars are already part of Forza Horizon 3, it may not be necessary, but snow tires seem like a given.
There is no trailer or additional screenshots yet. However, expect to see loads more announcements about the Blizzard Mountain DLC over the next couple of weeks leading to its release on December 13.
The announcement of the Blizzard Mountain expansion comes at an opportune time for Xbox One owners who don’t already own the racing title. Forza Horizon 3 is currently on sale through the Xbox Store for $38.99 for the Standard Edition of the game with the Deluxe Edition going for $59.99 and Ultimate Edition for $79.99 until Tuesday morning. Various retailers also have the physical and digital version of the game on sale for around the same price.
Does racing in the snowy rally events in Forza Horizon 3 pique your interest? Sound off in the comments below.
[Featured Image by Turn 10 Studios / Xbox]
