Latest Nvidia GeForce “Game Ready” drivers break classic Forza games

Nvidia’s new GeForce 581.80 WHQL driver cannot run several classic Forza games

Gamers on the Nvidia GeForce Forum (via Videocardz) have reported issues running several classic Forza games using Nvidia’s newest “Game Ready” drivers. With Nvidia’s GeForce 581.80 and 581.57 drivers are unable to play Forza Motorsport 6 Apex, Forza Motorsport 7, and Forza Horizon 3. Users have claimed that downgrading to driver version 576.88 appears to fix the issues.

Nvidia’s Manuel Guzman has confirmed that they have been able to replicate the issue. However, this does not necessarily mean that a fix will be easy. Microsoft is no longer updating its classic Forza games, and all of the games presenting issues are now unpurchasable digitally.

If these classic Forza games are checking something that Nvidia can’t control, it could mean that these games may never run properly again with new Nvidia drivers. However, Nvidia has confirmed that they are looking into the issue.

(Post on Nvidia’s Forums – Driver Feedback Thread)

The problem with these games appears to stem from how they detect GPUs and their drivers. Sadly, the functions of this system are something that Nvidia cannot control. Hopefully, Nvidia will be able to address these problems with a new hotfix or driver update. If not, it will be up to Microsoft to address these bugs, which seems unlikely.

You can join the discussion on Nvidia’s newest drivers being unable to play Forza Horizon 3, Forza Motorsport 6 Apex, and Forza Motorsport 7 on the OC3D Forums.