Forza Horizon 5 is already making its case as game of the year.
Forza Horizon is the open-world counterpart to the legendary Xbox Forza racing franchise. Forza Horizon 5 follows the hugely successful and brilliant Forza Horizon 4, and will almost certainly set the bar for the best Xbox racing games and best PC racing games for years to come. Playground Games and Xbox Game Studios know how to deliver a premium open-world racing experience, and Forza Horizon 5 is sure not to disappoint. Of course, Forza Horizon 5 is also positively massive in scope, meaning there's a lot to cover.
Here's everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 for Xbox and PC.
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Is the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate the best value in all of gaming? It's possible. Ultimate bundles your Xbox Live Gold subscription, an Xbox Game Pass subscription for both Xbox consoles and Windows PCs, and Xbox Cloud Gaming for on-the-go. Forza Horizon 5 is included in Xbox Game Pass day one for Xbox and PC, and will be available on Xbox Cloud Gaming.
What is Forza Horizon 5?
Forza Horizon 5 is the follow-up game to Playground Games' Forza Horizon 4 from 2018. Like all the other Forza Horizon games, Forza Horizon 5 is an open-world racing game with gorgeous visuals, accessible driving mechanics, and a massive roster of high-quality, licensed vehicles from dozens of manufacturers, all centered around the fabled Forza Horizon festival. Like every other Forza Horizon that has come before it, Forza Horizon 5 will be exclusive to Xbox and PC.
Forza Horizon 5 is the more arcade-like open-world counterpart to the highly anticipated eighth Forza Motorsport. While Forza Horizon 5 is now official and coming later this year, not a ton is known about the mysterious Forza Motorsport reboot. There's a lot we can talk about when it comes to Forza Horizon 5, though, which is now official and more than a series of rumors and leaks.
Forza Horizon 5 is akin to a "car-lovers sandbox," and mostly lets you play however you want. There are gentle campaign sections in Forza Horizon 5 called "Horizon Stories," which highlight smaller adventures that players can undertake with a variety of in-game characters and jobs, and the new Expedition Mode that encourages players to explore the world on road trips. All in all, the focus of Forza Horizon 5 is the vast arsenal of cars, the wide variety of races and events, the sheer level of creative freedom available, and the deeply integrated online multiplayer gameplay.
If Forza Horizon 4 gives us a peek at what we can expect from Forza Horizon 5 throughout the next several years, we can expect a ton of post-launch support and updates to introduce new cars, events, challenges, and even premium DLC expansions.
When is the release date for Forza Horizon 5?
The release date for Forza Horizon 5 has been wildly discussed prior to its release, but we finally have a definitive answer. Forza Horizon 5 releases on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, Xbox Game Pass, and Xbox Cloud Gaming on Nov. 9, 2021. If you preorder Forza Horizon 5 Premium Edition, you can play the game early on Nov. 5, 2021.
That's right, Forza Horizon 5 is the latest Xbox Game Studios title to launch simultaneously on Xbox, PC, and Xbox Game Pass. Xbox Cloud Gaming players on mobile devices will also be able to hop behind the wheel on day one. Forza Horizon 5 looks to be a technical and visual showcase on every one of those platforms, with all the stunning graphics and effects expected from a Forza game.
Preorders
Not only does it now have an official release date, Forza Horizon 5 is also available for preorder. If you're as excited for Forza Horizon 5 as I am, you may want to consider committing to the game early so you can play the moment it releases. Forza Horizon 5 has three separate editions to choose from, with each edition including various perks and bundles. Forza Horizon 5 Premium Edition also includes four days of early access, letting you play on Nov. 5 instead.
If you're planning on playing Forza Horizon 5 through Xbox Game Pass, you may consider the Forza Horizon 5 Premium Add-Ons Bundle, which includes all the awesome perks from the Premium Edition. Xbox Game Pass subscribers get a nice 10% discount on this optional add-on, which should remain available after Forza Horizon 5 launches (for those who purchase the base game or play FH5 at a later date).
If you preorder Forza Horizon 5 from the Microsoft Store, you'll automatically own it on both Xbox and PC using Xbox Play Anywhere.
Here are all of the Forza Horizon 5 preorder options:
- Forza Horizon 5 Standard Edition. The Standard Edition of Forza Horizon 5 includes only the base game, with no additional bonuses for preordering. This is the edition that is included in Xbox Game Pass.
- Forza Horizon 5 Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition of Forza Horizon 5 includes the base game and one additional add-on:
- Forza Horizon 5 Car Pass, which includes 50 additional cars. Eight Formula Drift cars are available immediately, and one additional car is added every week after that.
- Forza Horizon 5 Premium Edition. The Premium Edition of Forza Horizon 5 includes the base game and six additional add-ons, including:
- Forza Horizon 5 Car Pass, which includes 50 additional cars. Eight Formula Drift cars are available immediately, and one additional car is added every week after that.
- Forza Horizon 5 VIP Membership, which includes in-game perks and bonuses, as well as exclusive rewards for the Horizon Festival.
- Forza Horizon 5 Expansion One, which includes a new world location, vehicles, and gameplay.
- Forza Horizon 5 Expansion Two, which also includes a new world location, vehicles, and gameplay.
- Forza Horizon 5 Welcome Pack, which includes five pre-tuned cars, a Player House, and vouchers for one car and three items of clothing of your choice.
- Forza Horizon 5 early access, which gives you four days of early access to Forza Horizon 5, allowing you to play before release.
- Forza Horizon 5 Premium Add-Ons Bundle. Includes all of the additional perks and bonuses from Forza Horizon 5 Premium Edition. Does not include the base game.
If you're interested in preordering Forza Horizon 5, you can find all the links below.
The Festival returns
Forza Horizon 5 (Preorder)
$60 at Microsoft (Standard) $80 at Microsoft (Deluxe) $100 at Microsoft (Premium) $50 at Microsoft (Add-Ons) $60 at Amazon (Xbox) From $60 at Best Buy (Xbox) See at Steam
An epic adventure
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest project from Playground Games and continues the epic Forza Horizon adventure with a new roster of amazing cars and a brand-new location to explore: Mexico. Forza Horizon 5 launches on Xbox and PC later this year, and it's already available to preorder.
Demo
We have reason to believe that a Forza Horizon 5 demo is planned at some point, but we, unfortunately, lack any details. Previous Forza Horizon games offered free demos for players who wanted to experience the game before buying. Some of these demos even offered in-game perks if you played the demo then purchased the full game. Hopefully, Forza Horizon 5 will offer a free demo closer to launch.
Right now, we don't know how long the Forza Horizon 5 demo will be, what it will play like, whether or not it will provide any rewards for the main game like the title car or in-game currency, or even if it's coming at all. We'll continuously scour the web for further information and update this section as we find it.
How can I watch the trailers for Forza Horizon 5?
Official announcement
Gameplay overview
Let's Go! Episode One
Let's Go! Episode Two
Let's Go! Episode Three
Audible upgrades preview
Car recording behind-the-scenes
Car audio gameplay trailer
When was the reveal and announcement for Forza Horizon 5?
We knew Forza Horizon 5 was coming long before it was announced, and even had a hefty pile of leaks and rumors fueling speculation. Of course, the game had to be confirmed eventually. Forza Horizon 5 was officially revealed by Xbox and Playground Games at E3 2021. More specifically, Forza Horizon 5 was announced during the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase at E3 2021 alongside other truly gargantuan franchises and announcements.
Forza Horizon 5 was right near the end of the show and deservedly garnered a huge amount of hype and excitement for its release. It arrived alongside heavy hitters like Halo Infinite, Starfield, and Redfall. There was no way Microsoft could've made the announcement of Forza Horizon 5 a bigger deal.
From now on, expect more news and information to trickle out as we head towards the official release of Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox and PC. It seems Playground plans to host periodic streams to cover certain aspects of Forza Horizon 5. The first stream was a general introduction to the world of FH5, while the second covered the impressive technology powering FH5's sky. You can watch all those streams and more in the trailers section above.
Where is the location for Forza Horizon 5?
Forza Horizon games all revolve around their expansive worlds, so the location for that open world is incredibly important to the franchise. The location is decided extremely early on in development and ripples through every other aspect of the game, including the cars, music, gameplay, and much more. That's why it was amazing to have earlier Forza Horizon 5 rumors confirmed when Playground Games and Xbox Game Studios took the wraps off their latest car-centric masterpiece: Forza Horizon 5 is heading back to North America and takes place in Mexico.
When leaks first began to spread that Forza Horizon 5 would take place in Mexico, many fans lamented the "lack of variety" that would stem from the game being set in the middle of a desert, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Mexico is a massive country, with a wildly diverse set of ecosystems and regions, leading to Forza Horizon 5 being the largest and most varied Forza Horizon game of all time.
This is in stark contrast to Forza Horizon 4, which was set in the United Kingdom. While absolutely gorgeous, with a myriad of British hamlets, countrysides, and natural landmarks to explore and discover, the game slightly lacked in variety over its predecessor. Playground Games ensures no one becomes bored of driving through Forza Horizon 5, with more to see than ever before (and a couple of evolved features to add even more variety).
Other players were hoping that Forza Horizon 5 would finally take the series to Japan, which has a long and rich car culture revolving around hyper-customization and drifting. While Japan may still be the location for a future Forza Horizon game, I can't say I'm disappointed by this choice. Mexico is a beautiful country filled with numerous locations and a myriad of infamous locations to drive through.
For reference, here are where all the previous Forza Horizon games were set:
- Forza Horizon: Colorado
- Forza Horizon 2: Southern Europe
- Forza Horizon 3: Australia
- Forza Horizon 4: United Kingdom
Forza Horizon 5 won't depict a one-to-one scale version of Mexico, of course, but Playground Games has always excelled at accuracy and location representation. They have dedicated teams of photographers who travel around potential locations so that Forza Horizon 5 can be as close as possible to the real thing. This means real places from Mexico will make an appearance in Forza Horizon 5. Even the sky in FH5 mirrors the real Mexican sky.
Here are the major locations that have been confirmed in Forza Horizon 5:
Guanajuato
Guanajuato is one of the most breathtaking cities in all of Mexico, and really in the entire world. A vast landscape of alternating colors, twisting streets, and an atmosphere that lives and breathes Mexican culture all contribute to a city that looks as incredible in real life as it does in Forza Horizon 5, and vice versa.
It has been confirmed that Guanajuato will be one of the most prominent single locations in Forza Horizon 5, and will be a wonderful playground for a plethora of races, events, and sheer car-based fun. Guanajuato was built long before cars existed, and therefore is paradoxically extremely fun to race around. Guanajuato's roads twist and turn in wild ways, and a complex set of tunnels means there are several intricate layers to roadways in Guanajuato.
Playground Games has attempted to capture everything that makes Guanajuato special, and it should be one of the most memorable locations to drive through in Forza Horizon 5.
What are all the cars and vehicles in Forza Horizon 5?
While the location is undeniably important in Forza Horizon games, it's ultimately the absurd number of cars that draws car fanatics to the game. Forza Horizon 5 hasn't revealed its full car list yet (Playground Games has actually confirmed it's not finalized yet), but the list will inevitably include several hundred vehicles immediately at launch, with more to come in the form of free content drops and paid DLC post-launch.
One thing we do know is that Forza Horizon 5 will include the largest car list at launch of any Forza Horizon game. Forza Horizon 4 launched with around 450 cars, so we can expect FH5 to at least match this.
The Forza Horizon 4 car list includes over 800 vehicles now, and we expect Forza Horizon 5 to match or even surpass this number eventually. For now, however, we have to spot cars when we can and slowly build on our knowledge of all the cars in Forza Horizon 5.
If you want to know it all, we have a complete list on every car in Forza Horizon 5 we've been able to confirm so far. Don't forget to check back in to see if your favorite car has been added, as we'll continuously update that list as we get more information.
Of course, there's more to the cars and vehicles in Forza Horizon 5 than the full list. There are also special Forza Edition cars, which offer unique in-game perks and bonuses, exclusive vehicles, and new cars included in premium DLC.
Here's everything you need to know about the extra and unique cars in Forza Horizon 5:
Cover car
As is prudent for a racing game, every Forza Horizon game to date has featured at least one car on its cover or box art. This car is used in marketing materials and is often seen as the "mascot" of that Forza Horizon entry, often getting a special edition or additional screen time versus other cars on the roster.
When Forza Horizon 5 was initially revealed, the heavy use of the impressive-looking Mercedes-AMG Project One hypercar strongly indicated that this car would grace the cover of FH5. However, now that preorders are open and the game can be wish listed, we can see that Forza Horizon 5 doesn't feature a car on its box art, or at least not yet. The Project One hasn't been entirely ruled out, of course, but Playground Games has confirmed they're not planning on revealing the FH5 cover car until August 2021.
Besides the Mercedes-AMG Project One, we know that both Ferrari and Lamborghini are planning on announcing new cars around the time Playground Games has promised to reveal Forza Horizon 5's cover car, so it's worth keeping that in mind.
We'll make sure and update this section as soon as we know the cover car (or cars!) for Forza Horizon 5. In the meantime, here are all the cover cars for previous Forza Horizon games:
- Forza Horizon: SRT Dodge Viper GTS
- Forza Horizon 2: Lamborghini Huracán
- Forza Horizon 3: Lamborghini Centenario and 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
- Forza Horizon 4: McLaren Senna and Land Rover Defender 90
Forza Edition
Forza Edition cars are special versions of preexisting cars. They're often very hard to obtain, are pre-tuned to offer superior performance or specialize at a certain task, and sport a unique in-game bonus like an XP boost or additional credits after winning races. Forza Edition cars are the ultimate possession for Forza car collectors, and only a select few cars have a Forza Edition.
Here are the Forza Edition cars we know of in Forza Horizon 5 so far:
- Mercedes-AMG Project One Forza Edition — The headlining car for Forza Horizon 5's reveal, we don't know how to obtain this Forza Edition or what bonus it offers
Car Pass DLC
The Forza Horizon 5 Car Pass is an optional DLC that is included in Forza Horizon 5 Deluxe Edition, Premium Edition, and the Premium Add-Ons Bundle. The Car Pass will add 50 new cars to Forza Horizon 5 post-launch, with each car being added to every Car Pass owner's car garage with no additional in-game cost. With the exception of the first eight-car pack, the Car Pass will add one car every week.
The Forza Horizon 5 Car Pass is not available for purchase separately.
Here are all the cars in the Forza Horizon 5 Car Pass so far:
Formula Drift Pack
Immediately at launch, the Forza Horizon 5 will add eight Formula Drift cars to players' car garages. We don't know what those cars are at this time, but we'll update this section as soon as we learn more.
What are the features and gameplay in Forza Horizon 5?
A new Forza Horizon game always comes with at least a handful of new features and improvements over its predecessor, but Forza Horizon 5 seems set on delivering even greater amounts of content to players when it launches later this year. The extra year of development Forza Horizon 5 got over previous entries in the series clearly helped things along, because there is a lot to talk about when it comes to Forza Horizon 5.
You mean there's more to Forza Horizon 5 than even more stunning visuals and a new location? Not only has Playground Games baked in significantly more content into Forza Horizon 5's base game, but it's also given the community a way to add essentially infinite new events and races to Forza Horizon 5 over time. We'll constantly add to this section as we learn more about all the additions in Forza Horizon 5, so be sure to check in regularly.
From the addition of convertibles to major updates for creators, Forza Horizon 5 is a big upgrade for Forza.
Here's everything we know about the features and gameplay in Forza Horizon 5:
Game features and visuals
Before we dive into the core pillars of a Forza Horizon 5 game (the world, customization, and online play), let's dive deep into the center of Forza Horizon 5. Playground Games wants this to be the biggest Forza Horizon in more ways than one, which means players have more ways to play and more reasons to keep returning. This is also by far one of the most gorgeous games we've ever seen, and Playground Games has achieved this feat with several methods.
Here are some of the best features about Forza Horizon 5 and its visuals:
- Horizon Festival. Forza Horizon has always revolved around the "Horizon Festival," a fictional event that belongs in every car lover's dreams. Pro racers from all over the world converge in one location for one purpose: to race. The Horizon Festival returns in Forza Horizon 5, and players are once again put in charge. Like Forza Horizon 4, multiple Festival sites can be opened, which unlocks new races and event types. Playground Games has also confirmed a new Horizon Festival logo for FH5.
- Horizon Stories. Forza Horizon 4 introduced the closest the series had ever seen to a single-player campaign with Horizon Stories. With Forza Horizon 5, they're bigger than ever. Playground Games describes Forza Horizon 5's Stories as a "deep and rewarding campaign," where players can meet dozens of new characters, decide the outcome of their individual stories, and embark on expeditions that span the entirety of Forza Horizon 5's map.
- Expedition Mode. Seemingly tying into Horizon Stories, Expedition Mode seems to be a single-player mode in Forza Horizon 5 that lets players explore new parts of the in-game Mexico with the help of a tour guide named Ramiro (Rami, for short) and some of the nicest cars in the world. We don't know a ton about Expedition Mode, but it seems that Playground wants to give players more reasons to explore their gorgeous world. Expedition Mode also appears to be how players will unlock new Festival sites in the game.
- Barn Finds. Barn Finds have been a mainstay feature in the Forza Horizon franchise, where players can look for long-lost cars buried throughout the world. Barn Finds are returning in Forza Horizon 5, and Playground has said that FH5's Barn Finds are the most detailed and location-specific Barn Finds ever. This could be referring to the cars players can find in Barn Finds, where the Barn Finds are physically located in the FH5 world, or both. We'll have to wait a little longer to find out.
- More informative races. Forza Horizon 5 wants to be the most inclusive and easy-to-access Forza Horizon game yet, and part of this means providing more information to players about optimal car and track combinations for races. Players will still have the freedom to drive any car they want anywhere they want, but the game will be better at helping players that want that help to pick the right car for the situation.
- Visuals and graphics. One of the most impressive parts about Forza Horizon 5 has indubitably been its eye-catching and mind-boggling visuals, which rank among some of the most impressive graphics we've ever seen in a video game. Several things factor into this achievement, including:
- The use of photogrammetry, which has Playground Games send dedicated teams of photographers all over Mexico to take thousands of pictures of locations and objects, to accurately capture everything from the individual needles on a cactus to the unique texture of volcanic boulders. Almost everything in Forza Horizon 5 is based on photogrammetry.
- A 12K resolution recording of the real Mexican sky, meaning the sky you see in Forza Horizon 5 literally couldn't look more authentic if it tried. This also makes the sky feel more dynamic as time passes and the weather changes.
- The addition of more 3D effects, like in new dynamic weather events, which evolve from pure textures to actual 3D occurrences that can affect the world and player perspective.
- The addition of ray tracing when in Forzavista, showcasing Forza Horizon 5's cars in the most realistic light possible.
Open world, biomes, and seasons
We already know Forza Horizon 5 is set in Mexico, but it turns out there's a lot more going on behind the scenes that Playground Games has shared about their latest game. Forza Horizon 5, of course, has a broad open world to explore, and marks the return of seasons that were introduced in Forza Horizon 4. However, Forza Horizon 5's map is the largest and most diverse world we've ever seen in a Forza Horizon game, with major changes even for existing features like seasons and weather.
Here are some of the best features about Forza Horizon 5's world:
- 1.5 times larger than Forza Horizon 4. True to their word, Playground Games has made Forza Horizon 5 the biggest Forza Horizon game yet, with a map approximately 1.5 times the size of Forza Horizon 4's Britain. That's a lot of ground to cover, and it features a huge variety of different locations, including:
- The largest highway in a Forza Horizon game yet, which stretches nearly corner to corner in Forza Horizon 5.
- Several towns and cities, all of which capture Mexican culture in beautiful and colorful ways.
- The return of multiple Horizon Festival sites, with the first Festival site being located on top of an old racetrack and airstrip (that's right, drag racing!).
- Eleven different biomes. To diversify the largest map in a Forza Horizon game to date, Playground has included 11 different biomes for players to explore. Every biome will have unique attributes, and interact with weather and seasons in different ways. The 11 confirmed biomes include:
- Arid hills
- Canyon
- Farmland
- Jungle
- Living desert
- Urban
- Sand desert
- Swamp
- Tropical coast
- Rocky coast
- Volcano
- The return of seasons. Forza Horizon 4's innovative seasons system is returning in Forza Horizon 5, but things are a little different this time around. While seasons in Britain have very clear dividers between them, making for immediately obvious differences, Mexico's wide variety of ecosystems and environments means all four seasons affect all 11 biomes in different ways. This means:
- Every season will behave and look different depending on where you are on the map.
- You can be in a blizzard on the mountain top and then drive down to the sweltering coast.
- Biomes will completely change for different seasons, including some areas only being accessible during a specific season.
- Seasons affect gameplay in new and exciting ways, and is even more deeply integrated into the world. There are new events, challenges, and rewards for every season.
- The season will still change once every week.
- Dynamic and localized weather. One of the most exciting additions to Forza Horizon 5 is dynamic and localized weather. Yes, the weather in Forza Horizon 4 looked amazing, but when it was raining in one area, it was raining everywhere. In Forza Horizon 5, weather exists in specific areas, can be seen in the distance, and can be tracked down by players. Forza Horizon 5's weather system includes:
- Storm chasing, which means players can keep an eye out for major storms and literally track them across Forza Horizon 5's world. While it hasn't been confirmed yet, this could make for an excellent Horizon Story in the game.
- Tropical and dust storms, which have huge and dramatic effects on the world. Dust storms are 3D, encapsulating everything and obstructing your view. Tropical storms shred trees and everything else in the area with high levels of wind, causing a buildup of debris.
- These storms can grow and swell as they occur, but tend to stick in the location they started in. Storms can appear in multiple locations around the map.
- The best Forza Horizon sky yet. Related to the new seasons and dynamic weather effects, Playground has also put in the effort to ensure the sky in Forza Horizon 5 is the most impressive ever put in a game. There are many reasons the FH5 is worth paying attention to, including:
- Playground Games used an updated version of their sky capture rig, which uses three 8K cameras to stitch together a 12K picture of the sky.
- Over 400 hours and 75TB of the Mexican sky was recorded, with the best parts picked out to be used in FH5.
- Forza Horizon 5 uses advanced interpolation and algorithms to seamlessly stitch these recordings together, creating a nonstop and authentic Mexican sky.
- All this work means there are significantly more weather presets for races and events, up to 2,000 (versus just over 300 in Forza Horizon 4).
- Authentic Mexican representation. Playground Games is obviously proud of the world it built for Forza Horizon 5, and its developers have mentioned that Mexico features a wonderful and deep culture in its people, locations, and cars. Playground has always strived to represent the cultures in the locations of its games accurately, and FH5, like in many other ways, aims to turn this up to 11. Some of the Mexican representation in Forza Horizon 5 includes:
- Original compositions from Mexican musicians for FH5's soundtrack
- Original artwork and murals from Mexican artists, including the one in the FH5 debut gameplay trailer by Farid Rueda
- Mexican writers and voice actors, which portray many of the characters in FH5
- New and updated world features. There's obviously more to Forza Horizon 5's improvements on top of these major changes as well, including (but not limited to):
- Foliage, including cactus, is smashable in Forza Horizon 5, so you don't have to worry about them getting in your way.
- Animals are making a return, including flamingos, wild dogs, donkeys, goats, horned sheep, parrots and other birds, and more. Animals are more intelligent than in Forza Horizon 4, and can even have unique behaviors.
Car, character, and event customization
If there's one thing that brings Forza Horizon players together like nothing else, it's the sheer level of creative freedom afforded by the games. Forza Horizon 5 wants to be the most customizable and inclusive Forza Horizon yet, and it also gears for infinite replayability with new player tools and features. Players have control over their cars, in-game characters, races, and even full-blown unique events you can't find anywhere else.
Here are the best features about Forza Horizon 5's car, character, and event customization:
- Updated user interface (UI). The UI in Forza Horizon 5 is finally getting a long-overdue redesign, which aims to make activities like car customization and more in Forza Horizon 5 more accessible and efficient. We haven't been able to see the updated UI yet, but I'm excited solely by the prospect of any improvement in this area.
- Improved accessibility. Accessibility in games is extremely important, and Playground Games seems to recognize this. While details haven't been shared yet, Playground Games promises Forza Horizon 5 is by far and away the most accessible Forza Horizon game so far, with new accessibility settings and options.
- New car customizations. Cars are in everything you do in Forza Horizon 5, so it makes sense that you'd have a lot of control over your vehicles. Forza Horizon has always given players a lot of freedom to make their cars look and drive the way they want, but new additions have been lacking lately. Forza Horizon 5 finally adds a ton of new options, including:
- Major improvements to the interface for designing and painting cars, to make it closer to modern image editing software
- Hundreds of new visual upgrade parts for cars
- Over 100 new rim options
- Thousands of new performance upgrades for cars, including over 500 new engine swaps
- The addition of convertible cars, and a way to open or close the top on a convertible car with a single button press wherever you are in Forza Horizon 5 (left thumbstick on controllers)
- The ability to paint brake calipers, which has been a requested feature for years now
- Fully body kits, which significantly alter the look of supported cars
- Improved car physics. One of the smaller, but still welcomed, improvements in Forza Horizon 5 is the return of "drivetrain flex," which essentially refers to how cars wobble when revving their engines or accelerating. This ties into apparently improved suspension and braking systems, which contribute to more realistic offroading in FH5 (and a brand-new "Offroad" performance stat for all cars).
- Improved car engine sounds. One of the biggest community complaints about Forza Horizon 4 was its lackluster car engine sounds, which often didn't accurately reflect the cars, and even repeated engine noises across cars. Playground has assuaged concerns from players and stated that their audio team has devoted a ton of time to improving engine noises in Forza Horizon 5.
- If you want to know more about how audio has improved in Forza Horizon 5, be sure to check out the "Audio" section below!
- New character customizations. In-game characters have taken the spotlight more in recent Forza Horizon games, giving players another way to express themselves and personalize their game experience. Forza Horizon 5 characters are getting a similar treatment to cars, with all-new ways to customize them, including:
- Major improvements to inclusivity, including options for pronouns, a more diverse selection of base characters, and prosthetic limbs
- Hundreds of new clothing options
- New choices for voices and hairstyles
- EventLab. Likely one of the most exciting additions to Forza Horizon 5 for many players, EventLab is a full-blown level editor. This isn't like the race editor feature from Forza Horizon 4, which lets you design custom tours and events from preexisting tracks. EventLab adds near-infinite possibilities to Forza Horizon 5, and includes a ton of features like:
- Tools and options similar to the ones used by Forza Horizon developers
- The ability to individually place objects, tracks, items, and more, to custom design your track or world
- The ability to choose game objectives and rules, to create something truly unique
- EventLab is similar to Super7, but apparently provides more power and control in every way
- EventLab will improve over time as the community provides feedback
- Races made in EventLab can even appear on the FH5 map for players
- Playground will pick the best and coolest modes and events from EventLab to showcase in Festival Playlists and Horizon Arcade
Online play and social features
Online and social features have long been a huge part of Forza Horizon, connecting players across the open world and making it easier to play together. Forza Horizon 5 is making big changes to make online play more accessible and seamless than ever before, with a host of new features to incentivize players to participate in online events and play. This means new tools, events, and more in Forza Horizon 5.
Here are some of the best features about Forza Horizon 5's online play:
- Horizon Open. Forza Horizon 5 is condensing its classic Forza Horizon PvP modes under one barrier, with players able to seamlessly leap into races, challenges, and events while driving around in the massive open world.
- Horizon Tour. Related to Horizon Open, Tour lets players meet up together and travel to new race locations, either to race against each other or Drivatars. You can see players jump into races all over Forza Horizon 5 and join them in their Tour. Tour teams up with LINC (below) for more seamless online play.
- Horizon Arcade. Forza Horizon 5 is packed with over 130 new mini-games, spread across 12 different game modes, all of which fit under the Horizon Arcade banner. These aren't game modes you need to search for. Instead, they happen dynamically all over the Forza Horizon 5 map as public events while you're driving around with other players. Participate in these spontaneous events to earn new rewards and more, and be automatically linked to the next event if you want to keep playing.
- Forza LINC. Forza Horizon's classic AI is getting revamped in Forza Horizon 5, and is now called LINC. LINC intelligently keeps track of all the players' progression and status, and helps players meet up for races or find common interests.
- Kudos. A new social currency in Forza Horizon 5, Kudos, is gifted for participating in online events or generally being friendly to other players. Collecting Kudos can help you unlock new flairs, which can be attached to your player label.
- Gift Drops. Gift Drops are similar to Barn Finds, except players can tune and design their own cars, and then hide them in the world for a specific group of Forza Horizon players. Anyone in Forza Horizon 5 under that group has a chance to find the Gift Drop, and then they get to keep the car. This is a great way of encouraging charitable play in Forza Horizon 5.
- Festival Playlists. Returning from Forza Horizon 4, Festival Playlists are new and improved in FH5. Weekly and monthly updates are still planned for Forza Horizon 5, with Festival Playlists offering several hours of additional gameplay every week and exclusive rewards. Playground is apparently taking everything they've learned from FH4 and applying it to FH5.
- Better accessibility and inclusion. Playground Games wanted to make Forza Horizon 5 more accessible, especially as players become more likely to return after months-long absences or play older games for the first time through Xbox Game Pass. Some of these improvements include:
- A more seamless and natural transition from single-player campaign play to the live service Festival Playlist
- Less focus on purely winning and more of a focus on having fun and winning if you can
Audio and car sounds
Forza Horizon 4 is a fantastic game in practically every way, but there is one thing that it consistently lacks in according to the Forza community: car sounds. Forza Horizon 4 uses the same car sounds repeatedly for multiple vehicles, features low-quality recordings, and has a tendency to make every car sound practically the same. One of the biggest question marks surround Forza Horizon 5 has been whether or not audio will be noticeably improved. Now, we finally have some answers.
Playground Games recently held a stream detailing Forza Horizon 5 audio improvements, and there's hardly anything to be upset about. It seems Playground has invested substantial time into improving not just engine noises in FH5, but all audio in general. You can even watch a Forza Horizon 5 gameplay trailer just showing off improved car audio, which is awesome for fans.
There's enough here for audio and car sounds to earn its own section in our ultimate Forza Horizon 5 guide, so let's get started.
Here's what you need to know about audio in Forza Horizon 5:
- No more "dyno" recording method. Many other racing games use the "dyno" method to record their car audio, which effectively straps a car in and records it revving up to max. This method is officially retired in FH5, as it's inherently limiting and doesn't accurately capture a car's complex sounds.
- Live recording on a track or airstrip. Instead, Forza Horizon 5 leans fully into Playground Games' favorite method of recording: strapping a bunch of microphones to a car and driving it around. This leads to more authentic and varied engine sounds per car.
- Over 320 new car recordings. During the development of FH5, Playground has recorded over 320 new car recordings on top of the existing library in Forza Horizon 4, a huge surplus that should lead to more varied sounds.
- Major improvements to car audio. With over 320 new live car recordings, Playground is already set up for massively improved audio in Forza Horizon 5. However, car engine noises are getting several other major enhancements in FH5, including:
- 100% use of the granular synthesis technique, versus only 10-15% in Forza Horizon 4. Granular synthesis lets Playground chop up audio files into many segments and stitch together seamlessly as needed. This means no matter how you're driving, your cars will always sound dynamic and natural.
- Car audio is always 90 FPS, versus the 60 FPS the game plays at. Combined with granular synthesis, this means car sounds in Forza Horizon 5 are incredibly reactive, with no gaps between action and sound.
- Forza Horizon 5 also uses a brand-new modular audio system, which can intelligently recognize your car, its engine type, and its various engine upgrades, and pull from the existing library of sounds to create a unique and natural sound, including for engine upgrades like turbochargers, superchargers, exhausts, and much more, and distinct sounds like transmission whines and the characteristic sound of an electric or hybrid car.
- Improvements to tire sounds are also included, with FH5 able to use all of its upgrades (including the new modular system) to adapt tire sounds to the car and tire type being used.
- Engine upgrades can be heard in real-time. If you're excited to try out the upgraded audio in Forza Horizon 5 by upgrading your car with various new performance parts, you're in luck. FH5 will let you hear engine upgrades in real-time while customizing your car with a new "Rev engine" button. This will let you hear the difference between different engine upgrades like intakes, camshafts, and more, and even between entire engine swaps.
- Improvements to first-person audio. If you prefer to drive your car in first-person, you're in luck! Audio is also getting major improvements in this department to elevate the cockpit feel to a new level. Some of the improvements include:
- Audio can be muffled accurately when inside a closed car.
- New FH5 audio systems can track how sound travels around the inside of a car, including reverb.
- Convertibles will have different first-person soundscapes depending on whether or not the top is up or down.
- Audio ray tracing. While visual ray tracing is limited to Forzavista (which includes the menu for upgrading your car!), audio ray tracing is being applied to the entire game. This means Forza Horizon 5 can trace audio as it bounces off the environment like walls, ceilings, buildings, and more. Reverb and echoes will be realistic and accurate, especially in environments like tunnels.
- Ray tracing occlusion also means players will be able to pinpoint the locations of nearby cars (even around buildings and other obstacles) by the noises of their engines.
- Forza Horizon 5 sounds better on Xbox Series X|S. FH5 apparently benefits from Xbox Series X|S hardware in more than just raw power and visuals, as Microsoft's current-gen gaming consoles have unlocked a new compression format for audio. This means FH5 will have higher fidelity audio on Xbox Series X|S, which applies to all audio, including music, environmental noises, and car sounds.
- All cars benefit. Finally, it should be noted that all cars in FH5 will benefit from these audio improvements. This means whether you're exploring the world by yourself, playing online with others, or racing through Mexico, all the cars around you will reflect all of these audio improvements.
What platforms will get Forza Horizon 5?
Forza Horizon 5 is heading to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It'll be available on day one on Xbox Game Pass. Forza Horizon 5 is not coming to other platforms like PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, or Amazon Luna.
Here's everything you need to know about every platform Forza Horizon 5 is launching on.
Xbox Series X|S
Forza Horizon 5 has been designed from the ground up to show off what the Xbox Series X|S current-gen consoles are capable of, and it delivers. Playground Games has already revealed the Forza Horizon 5 performance targets for Xbox Series X|S, and we like what we see. It's been made clear from the very beginning that Forza Horizon 5 is going to look fantastic on Xbox Series X|S, with a wide range of supported features.
Here's everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Series X|S
- Performance targets. To get the most technical (and arguably least important) information out of the way first, here's how Forza Horizon 5 runs on Xbox Series X|S:
- 4K resolution and 30 FPS on Xbox Series X in Quality Mode
- 1080p resolution and 30 FPS on Xbox Series S in Quality Mode
- 4K resolution and 60 FPS on Xbox Series X in Performance Mode
- 1080p resolution and 60 FPS on Xbox Series X in Performance Mode
- Ray tracing. Forza Horizon 5 is the first Forza Horizon game to embrace ray tracing, which enables accurate and true-to-life tracking for lights, shadows, reflections, and much more. Forza Horizon 5 will support ray tracing on Xbox Series X|S at launch, although it's limited to the Forzavista mode, where players can admire their cars in their full ray-traced glory.
- Smart Delivery. Like many other Xbox games that span generations, Forza Horizon 5 supports Xbox Smart Delivery. This means you have to buy Forza Horizon 5 only once for Xbox consoles, and Xbox will automatically download the best possible version of the game for the console you're playing on, at no additional cost. This also includes Xbox cloud saves, meaning there's full cross-progression between generations.
- Cross-platform play. Forza Horizon 5 embraces every platform it's available on, which means it supports cross-play between Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Cross-save is also supported across all of these platforms, with the exception of Forza Horizon 5 on Steam.
- Improved world and visuals. The power of Xbox Series X|S allows for improvements across the board for both gameplay and visuals. This includes features like:
- Full HDR10 support for improved contrast and colors
- Improved draw distances, so players can see farther and with more detail
- Improved load speeds, so players can start racing faster
- Improved details and textures for both cars and the world
- Improved audio fidelity
Xbox One
Xbox One may be the "last-gen" of gaming consoles, but they still have a lot of life left in them. Forza Horizon 5 is heading to Xbox One, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X when it launches on Nov. 9, and it should offer a fantastic experience when it does. We don't know how well Forza Horizon 5 will run or look on Xbox One consoles when it launches, but we're expecting it to be similar to how previous Forza Horizon games did.
Here's everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox One:
- Smart Delivery. If you buy Forza Horizon 5 while on Xbox One, know that you'll always have the best experience possible wherever you play. Forza Horizon 5 will scale across all Xbox consoles using Smart Delivery, meaning you can buy and fall in love with the game while on Xbox One, and then immediately experience an upgraded version of Forza Horizon 5 when you move to an Xbox Series X or S.
- Cross-platform play. Forza Horizon 5 embraces every platform it's available on, which means it supports cross-play between Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Cross-save is also supported across all of these platforms, with the exception of Forza Horizon 5 on Steam.
- Improvements over Forza Horizon 4. Forza Horizon 4 already pushed the Xbox One generation of consoles to its limits when it came to graphics, so don't expect Forza Horizon 5 to be a big visual jump when playing on Xbox One. That doesn't mean there isn't a ton to look forward to, including:
- A bigger and more diverse world than ever before
- Brand-new ways to play with new races, events, challenges, and more
- Improved online multiplayer with in-world public events, more ways to find new friends, and more
- EventLab event editor, which allows full creative freedom to build new events, maps, and more
- Tons of other improvements to customization, accessibility, cars, the world, and more
PC
Microsoft's newfound and growing support of PC gaming means Forza Horizon 5 (and practically every other Xbox Game Studios title) launches on PC at the same time as Xbox platforms. Playground Games hasn't divulged all the details for how Forza Horizon 5 will behave on PC, but you can rest assured knowing PC gamers will be able to experience the best Forza Horizon 5 has to offer (with the right hardware, of course).
Here's everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 on PC:
- Minimum PC requirements. If you want to play Forza Horizon 5 on your PC, you need to make sure you at least achieve the minimum requirements to run Forza Horizon 5 on PC. Ideally, you'll want to have much better hardware than the minimum requirements ask for, as Forza Horizon 5 will look and run worse with this hardware.
- OS: Windows 10 version 15063.0 or higher
- Processor: Intel i3-4170 @ 3.7Ghz, Intel i5-750 @ 2.67Ghz, or equivalent
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 650 Ti, AMD R7 250x, or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband internet connection
- Storage: 80GB available space
- Recommended PC requirements. Unfortunately, we currently don't know the recommended PC requirements. If you're looking to upgrade your PC to ensure it passes the test, be sure to check out our list of best graphics cards (GPUs) for PC gaming. Alternatively, you can invest in one of the best gaming desktops or best gaming laptops for an all-inclusive PC gaming experience.
- Xbox Play Anywhere. We've been able to confirm that Forza Horizon 5 is an Xbox Play Anywhere title. This means you can buy any edition of Forza Horizon 5 directly from the Microsoft Store and instantly own the game on PC and Xbox, with cross-progression between the two versions. This is a fantastic pro-consumer feature and is awesome if you own both an Xbox and PC, or plan to in the future.
- Cross-platform play. On top of being an Xbox Play Anywhere title, Forza Horizon 5 also blends the lines between platforms and generations. No matter where you're playing, Forza Horizon 5 supports full cross-play and cross-saves. The only exception is the Steam version of Forza Horizon 5, which still supports cross-play with all other versions but unfortunately does not support cross-save.
- The best of Forza. Just like how Forza Horizon 5 expertly scales from the near-ancient Xbox One to the new-and-glorious Xbox Series X, Forza Horizon 5 also scales on PC. If you have the hardware to run it, you can play Forza Horizon 5 at its very best (even better than Xbox Series X|S!) with higher resolutions and framerates than anywhere else. It's all about the computer you're using.
- No mod support. Forza Horizon 5, unfortunately, does not support any kind of mods on PC. This is likely to protect the online-centric nature of the game, but may be a disappointment for players who were hoping for full-fledged mod support in a Forza Horizon game. Instead, players are being given the EventLab editor, which features powerful developer-level tools for creating maps and events.
Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud)
Forza Horizon 5 has been confirmed to be heading to Xbox Cloud Gaming, previously known as Project xCloud, on day one. If you're not familiar with Xbox Cloud Gaming, it's included in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (which also includes Xbox Game Pass for consoles and PC), and lets you play a wide variety of full-blown Xbox games on your phone, tablet, or laptop. This means you'll not only be able to tear through the Mexican deserts on your Xbox console or PC while at home, but also while you're on the go.
Here's everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Cloud Gaming:
- Powered by Xbox Series X. Xbox Cloud Gaming has long been powered by server blades based on the aging Xbox One S console. Now, Xbox Cloud Gaming is officially built on top of custom Xbox Series X server blades, delivering superior load speeds, latency, performance, and visuals. Xbox Series X|S Optimized games get the greatest benefits, which will include Forza Horizon 5 when it launches.
- Xbox Cloud Gaming streams games at up to 1080p and 60 FPS.
- Cross-platform play. Playing Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Cloud Gaming doesn't mean giving up on online multiplayer with your friends or managing a separate save. Forza Horizon 5 still supports full cross-play and cross-save on Xbox Cloud Gaming, just like it does on Xbox consoles. Play on PC or Xbox, then take your phone on the go and never lose a moment.
- Xbox One upgrade. This hasn't been implemented yet, but it's possible that Xbox Cloud Gaming will one day be used to bring current-gen-only games like Microsoft Flight Simulator or the upgraded version of Forza Horizon 5 to older Xbox One consoles. Using the power of the cloud, you'll someday be able to play games far beyond the capabilities of the aging Xbox One consoles.
- Mobile gaming. It should go without saying, but Forza Horizon 5 and Xbox Cloud Gaming means you can play one of the best racing games ever literally anywhere you have an internet connection. Be it your phone, a tablet, or even a non-gaming computer, Xbox Cloud Gaming aims to "just work."
- All you need is a controller and an internet connection, and maybe some of the best Xbox Cloud Gaming accessories.
- It hasn't been confirmed for Forza Horizon 5, but Xbox Cloud Gaming supports touch controls for select games. If Forza Horizon 5 offers touch controls through Xbox Cloud Gaming, it means you won't even need the controller or additional accessories to play, just your hands.
Forza Horizon 4 isn't just one of the best Xbox racing games, it's also one of the best Xbox games in general. There's every reason to believe that Forza Horizon 5 will continue the trend and deliver an excellent racing experience to Xbox and PC.
The Festival returns
Forza Horizon 5 (Preorder)
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An epic adventure
Forza Horizon 5 is the latest project from Playground Games and continues the epic Forza Horizon adventure with a new roster of amazing cars and a brand-new location to explore: Mexico. Forza Horizon 5 launches on Xbox and PC later this year, and it's already available to preorder.
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July 13, 2021
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