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Forza Motorsport added optional ray-traced global illumination (RTGI) with Update 15, whose rollout began December 9, 2024. The setting is for PC versions only—not Xbox Series X|S—and is off by default. Players who meet Turn 10’s GPU guidance can enable it in the Graphics menu.
What RTGI changes
Direct lighting comes straight from a light source; global illumination accounts for light bouncing from one surface onto another. RTGI uses ray-tracing hardware to calculate indirect lighting and occlusion—the shading that helps objects sit naturally in their surroundings—across the car and track in real time. Turn 10 describes the goal as more accurate indirect light and occlusion, not a replacement for every other lighting effect. Turn 10’s RTGI FAQ covers the feature’s intended operation.
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In practical terms, bounced color, shaded areas and contact darkness may look more convincing. The effect is likely to be easier to notice where lighting and color give it something to calculate—such as shadowed or artificially lit scenes—than in a bright, open scene. That is a graphics interpretation, not a measured comparison from Turn 10. RTGI is distinct from reflections: the game’s activation option combines the two, but RTGI specifically concerns indirect light and occlusion.
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Turn 10 says RTGI is available on PC editions from the Microsoft Store and Steam, including PC Game Pass, with Update 15 or later. The option is not available on Xbox Series X|S. An Xbox Game Pass console installation therefore does not gain RTGI simply because the PC Game Pass edition supports it.
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The feature was announced in a PC FAQ published December 5, 2024, and arrived as part of Update 15, which began rolling out December 9, 2024. It was not a separate standalone graphics patch. The Update 15 announcement and the release notes give the update context.
GPU guidance from Turn 10
These are the developer’s stated hardware classes and recommendations, not guarantees of a particular resolution or frame rate:
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| Use | Turn 10’s guidance |
|---|---|
| Minimum GPU class for enabling RTGI | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 Series or AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series |
| Recommended for RTGI High | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or better |
| Best-experience recommendation | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 |
The RTX 3080 is a recommendation for RTGI High, not the minimum required to enable RTGI. The RX 6000 Series spans different performance levels, so its inclusion as a baseline does not mean every model will deliver the same experience. Turn 10’s guidance also does not establish that any of these GPUs will meet a specific frame-rate target.
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How to enable RTGI
The setting is optional and disabled by default. On a supported, updated PC installation:
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- Open Graphics in the game’s settings.
- Set Raytracing Quality to Full Reflections + RTGI.
- Set RTGI Quality to High.
- Apply the settings; restart or reload if the game asks you to.
Where the effect applies
Turn 10 says enabled RTGI applies in gameplay, cinematics, Homespace and Photo Mode. Its presence across those modes does not mean the improvement will be equally visible in every camera view or lighting setup.
What to expect from performance
RTGI adds computational work, so the trade-off depends on your GPU, resolution, frame-rate target, ray-tracing settings and other graphics options. Turn 10’s recommendations indicate that the feature is intended for capable hardware, but the company does not give a universal frame-rate penalty. Without independent testing for a particular setup, a percentage loss or promised frame rate would be misleading.
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If you value lighting detail or spend time in Photo Mode, try the setting and compare it with your own performance target. If you prioritize stable high-refresh-rate racing—or already struggle to maintain your preferred frame rate—leaving RTGI off is a reasonable choice. Lowering resolution or using an image-reconstruction option may help offset the load, but the available controls and results depend on the current game build and hardware.
If the setting is missing
Check the following in order:
- Confirm that the PC game is updated to Update 15 or later.
- Make sure you launched the PC edition through Steam, Microsoft Store or PC Game Pass, rather than the Xbox console version.
- Check whether the GPU meets Turn 10’s stated baseline: RTX 20 Series or RX 6000 Series.
- Return to Graphics and look for Full Reflections + RTGI under Raytracing Quality; then set RTGI Quality to High.
Update 15 in context
RTGI was one part of a broader update. Update 15 also brought Mount Panorama (Bathurst) and Australia Month content, allowed car upgrades in eligible Featured Multiplayer Open Events, sped up transitions in Spectate and Replay, and changed Safety Rating. Turn 10’s earlier Developer Direct discusses the game’s ray-tracing and global-illumination technology, while NVIDIA’s December 2024 announcement also noted the RTGI update.
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