During the E3 2021 Xbox & Bethesda Showcase, Playground Games revealed the latest title in the Forza Horizon series, Forza Horizon 5. Now, if you’re a racing fan like myself, I’m sure there’s plenty that you want to know about the game. Thankfully, we’ve gathered as much information as possible and will continue to update this page until the day that Forza Horizon 5 is released.
Until then, here’s everything we know, and you should know about Forza Horizon 5.
What platforms is Forza Horizon 5 coming to?
Per Playground Games, Forza Horizon 5 is headed to the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC (Microsoft Store, Steam)
Is there a release date for Forza Horizon 5?
There sure is, November 9th, 2021. That’s just 5 more months before we’re playing the next Forza Horizon game.+
Will Forza Horizon 5 be available on Xbox Game Pass?
Yes, Forza Horizon 5 will be available to play on the same day that Forza Horizon 5 is released.
What about cross-save support?
While the Xbox and Windows versions will feature cross-save support, the Steam versions will not.
Are there going to be any different versions of the game when it is released?
Yes. There will be three different editions of Forza Horizon 5 when it gets released.
The Standard Edition, priced at $59.99.
- Includes a copy of the game.
The Deluxe Edition, priced at $79.99
- Includes a copy of the game
- Forza Horizon 5 Car Pass – Get 50 extra cars at one low price! The Car Pass will deliver 42 new cars to your game weekly, one per week. As a bonus, you’ll also receive 8 Formula Drift Cars to get you started.
The Premium Edition, Priced at $99.99
- Includes a copy of the game
- Car Pass
- Forza Horizon 5 expansions 1 and 2 (yet to be announced)
- Forza Horizon 5 VIP – includes new cards, exclusive rewards, in-game vanity items, and more.
- Forza Horizon 5 welcome package
- Early Access – Gain access to Forza Horizon 5 on November 5th, 2021.
In addition to the standard, deluxe and premium editions, there will be an exclusive bundle for Xbox Game Pass members; the Forza Horizon 5 Premium Add-Ons Bundle.
The Forza Horizon 5 Premium Add-Ons Bundle, priced at $49.99. This bundle includes everything from the standalone premium version of the game for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
Where is Forza Horizon 5 taking place this time?
The newest location for Forza Horizon 5 is Mexico. Players will be able to tear up the off-road or navigate through the busy streets in a brand new location.
Are there any new modes in Forza Horizon 5?
Here’s everything that Playground Games has said will be available in Forza Horizon 5.
- Horizon Story – Experience a deep and rewarding campaign, where you will meet new characters and determine the outcome of their Horizon Story missions. You will take on expeditions across the map, battling the elements in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars.
- Forza LINC– The new AI assistant that intelligently tracks your status, the people you meet online and then helps you Link Up and play together.
- Horizon Arcade – Invites players to journey to Arcade markers across the map to engage in various challenges and mini games.
- EventLab – The incredible new toolset that allows you to create your very own races, game modes and game play experiences – you customize everything – right down to the fundamental rules of the game.
- Horizon Open – Refines the traditional Forza Horizon PvP experience with an emphasis on lower friction and fun by unifying it under one banner, allowing players to seamlessly jump into sessions for Racing, Games, Drift, Eliminator and more and stay until they have had their fill.
- Horizon Tour – See players jump into races from anywhere across the world, meeting up with other players to race against Drivatars on Average difficulty. This mode captures the experiences of a car-meet, with players meeting up in the world to race and having the option to continue together to the next Tour location in the world.
- Vehicle Customization – A complete UX overhaul to bring the experience in-line with modern image manipulation software. We have also added 100 new rims, hundreds of new visual upgrades, and thousands of performance upgrades.
- Character Customizer – Improved to provide players with a more diverse cast of selectable characters. New customization options include the ability to customize hair style and color, select prosthetic limbs, choose pronouns, select from different voices and the ability to purchase clothing with credits.
- Kudos – A social currency awarded between players for positive acts, unlocking flairs that can be attached to a player’s label and visible to others.
- Gift Drops – Send and receive gifts from the community. You can take one of your cars, apply upgrades and a paint job and then drop it as a gift to another player.
What kind of performance are we talking about for Forza Horizon 5?
Currently, we only know how Forza Horizon 5 will perform on the Xbox Series X and S, which you can see below. In addition to this, ray tracing is supported but only in the Forza Vista mode, which is like checking out available cars in the game via a showroom floor.
- Xbox Series X – Resolution mode @ 4K 30 frames per second will also include a performance mode that will play provide 60 frames per second.
- Xbox Series S – Resolution mode @ 1080p 30 frames per second will also include a performance mode that will play provide 60 frames per second.
- Xbox One – To Be Announced
- PC – While the official specs haven’t been released, the Steam page is up and does list the following; Intel i3-4170 @ 3.7Ghz or Intel it 750 @ 2.67Ghz, 8GB of RAM, Nvidia 650 Ti, or AMD R7 250x. These are the same minimum specs from Forza Horizon 4 on the PC. Given that the same game engine is being used in Forza Horizon 5, I suspect these are legit. As for the higher-end requirements, stay tuned.
Check out the gameplay trailer below to get an indication of how Forza Horizon 5 looks and performances. And if you can, be sure to watch it in 4K.
Just how large is Forza Horizon 5?
Xbox and Playground Games have mentioned that Forza Horizon 5 will be 1.5x larger than Forza Horizon 4. The game will also feature distinct biomes that have their unique features, and more diversity, compared to the prior games.
In fact, the game will consist of several biomes that possess unique characteristics; Canyon, Tropical Coast, Farmland, Arid Hills, Jungle, Living Desert, Rocky Coast, Sand Desert, Swamp, Urban City of Guanajuato, and Volcano.
Check out this article that details the biomes and showcases several videos.
Will Forza Horizon 5 support cross-play and cross-save?
Yes, cross-play is fully supported. At the start, the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions support cross-play with the PC versions and vice versa. However, the Steam version of the game will not support cross-save with the console version. Only the PC version from the Microsoft Store version will support cross-save with the Xbox platform versions. This is how Forza Horizon 4 was also handled when the game made its way to Steam.
How many cars are going to be in the game?
At the start, there could be 431 cars playable. Or at least that’s how many have been revealed so far.
Speaking of the cars, Playground Games has released several new videos, ranging from the sounds of several in-game cars, and how they recorded the sounds, and more.
Will there be a demo for Forza Horizon 5?
No, there won’t. While Forza Horizon 3 and 4 had a demo, Forza Horizon 5 will not have one according to Playground Games.
Are you excited?
Are you asking me? If so, heck yes! I love the Forza Horizon games. I played perhaps way too much of Forza Horizon 4, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Forza Horizon 5. What about you?
Forza Horizon 5 will be released on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC (Windows 10, Steam) on November 9th, 2021. Early access is also available for anyone who pre-orders the premium edition of the game.
