Forza Horizon 2 Will Be a ‘Different Game’ on Xbox 360

We’ve known for a while that Forza Horizon 2 will have a different developer on Xbox 360, Playground Games has now explained it will also not be a straight cross-platform port.

Instead, Creative Director Ralph Fulton told Digital Spy, the teams are shooting for the same spirit despite a different engine.

“It’s based in the same world, it’s based on the same themes,”  Fulton said. “Rather than thinking of them as the same game on different platforms, they are different games inspired by the same ideas.”

Forza Horizon 2 on Xbox One will run on the Forza 5 engine and be developed by Playground. Forza Horizon 2 on the Xbox 360 will be developed by Sumo Digital and run on the original Forza Horizon engine.

It makes you wonder how different the 360 version will be, and what will get cut from its next-gen big brother. Fulton has confirmed that the advanced weather system and the Drivatar (an online avatar that earns points for you even when you’re not playing) system of the Xbox One version isn’t happening on the 360.

Maybe it’s time to think about upgrading to a new console before the game launches Sept. 30?