Yes, it's all because it's an Xbox game, I mean it's not like the following have happened:
- VIP rewards were made consumable mods without informing the loyal fans of the series who flocked to pre order that version of the game.
- When this was uncovered they have since cleaned up FM.net deleting any thread that wants to talk about this and ask why they thought it was ok to deceive their fans.
- Dan Greenawalt responds on Twitter with this IDGAF handslap.
- They've also removed the credit rewards for players who like to play with assists off, thus making it more difficult to earn credits (because credits can be used to buy lootboxes)
- This then means that those who only want to play online will have a more difficult time of getting credits
- Car prices have been increased
- Manufacterer affinity is also gone
- Certain cars/items can only be obtained from lootboxes
- They have delayed introducing the option of purchasing lootboxes until after the reviews are in.
If you want to read more then there is also this post on Reddit which summarises a lot of what's going on:
You can also go to Forza's official forums where people are discussing these issues (when the threads aren't getting deleted).
Of course, there are some people who can turn a blind eye to all of this and just enjoy the game (credit to them, but that doesn't mean everybody should). Unfortunately for you this thread exists to discuss how this disgusting practice is altering game design in the name of physiologically manipulating players to spend money in a gambling simulator with a $60-$10 entrance fee (those who spend $100 now get some extra free spins, yay!). This latest example this year is Forza 7 which so happens to be an Xbox exclusive.
So if this thread or any of the information in this post makes you feel uncomfortable, or makes you wonder why people are saying bad things about Xbox/Microsoft then please tweet Phil Spencer, tweet Major Nelson, tweet Dan Greenawalt and ask them why they are doing this.