Forza 3 cruising in October

LOS ANGELES--As far back as June 2008, speculation has abounded that Microsoft and Turn 10 were prepping a new installment in the Forza hyper-realistic racing franchise. In May, rumors that Microsoft would use its 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo press conference to debut the new racer surfaced. Today, those rumors can be put to bed, as Microsoft dedicated a significant portion of its press event to detail Forza Motorsport 3, which will ship exclusively for the Xbox 360 this October.

As part of the demonstration, Turn 10 creative director Dan Greenwalt showed off a demo of the game. The demo first shows a number of vehicles flying around a mountain racing track, a precarious location given that one of the vehicles suddenly flips and rolls.

According to Greenwalt, Forza 3 will feature graphics running at 60 frames per second. The game will also include some 400 vehicles from a variety of manufacturers. Greenwalt also noted that player-generated content will be featured front and center in Forza 3, showing off artwork that has been uploaded by professional artists. The game will also allow players to upload high-definition video, with a dedicated video editor built in as well.

Microsoft will feature Forza Motorsport 3 at its booth on the E3 show floor. Check back with GameSpot later for a full preview of the new racer.