Forza Horizon 5 for Xbox & PC ultimate guide: Gameplay, trailers, and everything you need to know
Forza Horizon 5 is one of the best racing games you can play right now.
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Forza Horizon is the open-world counterpart of the legendary Xbox Forza racing franchise, and Forza Horizon 5 is the latest entry in the series. Following the hugely successful Forza Horizon 5, FH5 sets the bar even higher with an expanded open-world set in Mexico, hundreds of cars, and countless quality-of-life improvements and additions.
Playground Games and Xbox Game Studios know how to deliver a premium open-world racing experience, withForza Horizon 5solidly maintaining its position as one of thebest Xbox racing gamesandbest PC racing gamesreleased in recent memory. Of course, FH5 is also gargantuan, with an absurd amount of content capable of keeping even the most hardcore completionists busy for dozens of hours.
Here’s everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 for Xbox and PC now that it’s officially released.
Forza Horizon 5
Playground Games has delivered its latest masterpiece with Forza Horizon 5, which features the series' most diverse map and largest car list yet. The game continues to grow over time, as well, giving players even more reasons to jump in.
Buy from:Amazon|Xbox
What is Forza Horizon 5?
Forza Horizon 5 is the follow-up game to Playground Games’Forza Horizon 4from 2018. Like 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. And, also like previous Forza Horizon games, FH5 is exclusive to Xbox and PC platforms.
Forza Horizon 5 is the more arcade-like open-world counterpart to the highly anticipatedeighth Forza Motorsport. While Forza Horizon 5 is available now, fans will have to wait a while longer for the arrival of Forza Motorsport (2023). Playground Games and Turn10 share a ton of technology and resources between them, as well, which means FH5 may give us a peek at the quality that can be expected from Forza Motorsport.
Forza Horizon 5 is akin to a “car-lovers sandbox,” and lets you play however you want. While there is a story and full-blown campaign with the Horizon Adventure, Expeditions, and smaller Horizon Stories, it’s still up to players how they progress and what path they take. 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.
With the Festival Playlist making its return in Forza Horizon 5 — complete with a wide variety of improvements and expansions — along with planned premium expansions and more, FH5 is looking forward to years of constant post-launch support and love. Also, the Forza Horizon community can contribute more to the game’s longevity than ever before, with the inclusion of EventLab and other creator tools providing endless possibilities for Forza Horizon 5.
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That isn’t to say the game is perfect.Forza Horizon 5 has plenty of issues, but Playground is perpetually tracking them and fixing them with constant patch updates and hotfixes.
You can check out more images of Forza Horizon 5 below, including some incredible wallpapers featuring mural art that appears in-game.
Windows Central reviews Forza Horizon 5
OurForza Horizon 5 previewshowed that FH5 was truly deserving of the hype, and gave us hope that the ambitious title would actually deliver on all of its promises. OurForza Horizon 5 road triphelped us fall in love with the gorgeous world long before release.
With our fullForza Horizon 5 review, it was confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Playground Games and Xbox Game Studios have crafted one of the best racing games of all time, a title that will provide hours of fun for years to come and doubtlessly inspire future racing titles. Even when FH5 players have gotten through the majority of content in the base game,Forza Horizon 5’s multiplayer is grander and more accessible than ever before, with a nearly endless amount of content to explore.
There’s certainly a lot to love about Forza Horizon 5, even if there’s still room for Playground to improve its formula further with the next Forza Horizon title.Forza Horizon 5 is more than just another racing game, and has cemented itself as the premiere racing game on any platform.
Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels
The first full-blown DLC expansion for Playground Games' flagship title isForza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels, which adds a ton of fresh content to the game. As the name suggests, this expansion is made in collaboration with the Hot Wheels brand, and as such features a variety of Hot Wheels cars and a brand-new map filled with diverse, twisting, looping, and speeding Hot Wheels tracks.
Our own Brendan Lowry wrote thatForza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels makes him “feel like a kid again,“highlighting how the new DLC embraces pure, unfettered fun in its quest to add hours of additional gameplay to FH5’s base experience. Players can explore a new standalone campaign and complete a variety of missions and challenges while they explore the varied biomes of the world-in-the-sky.
How can I watch the trailers for Forza Horizon 5?
Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels announcement trailer
Forza Horizon 5 official launch trailer
Forza Horizon 5 live-action trailer
Forza Horizon 5 official announcement trailer
Forza Horizon 5 gameplay overview
Forza Horizon 5 intro gameplay trailer
Where is the location for Forza Horizon 5?
Our ultimate guide toForza Horizon 5’s mapincludes everything you need to know about FH5 and its rendition of Mexico, including just how big the map is in comparison to previous Forza Horizon games, an overview of different locations you’ll be able to explore, and more.
Interestingly, Forza Horizon 5 is the first time where the map is exactly what was originally planned — no map content had to be cut throughout development. Even more impressive, it’ll continue to evolve over time, with Festival Playlist and Series updates able to alter the world with new decorations, races and events, and more.
What are all the cars and vehicles in Forza Horizon 5?
It can be tough to keep track of every car in a Forza Horizon game, especially when you’re looking for something specific, but ourForza Horizon 5 full car listis constantly updated with every car we know of, including gifts, DLC additions, special cars, and much more.
There are already well over 600 cars in Forza Horizon 5, including legendary vehicles like the DeLorean, and Playground Games will continue to add more as time goes on through the Car Pass, expansions, the Festival Playlist, and more. If you want to be the first to know about new additions as they happen, be sure to bookmark our ultimate FH5 car list above.
What is the story & campaign in Forza Horizon 5?
While the story or plot in a racing game may not be the most crucial element for some players, it can still add a lot to the experience for those who do appreciate it. Forza Horizon 4 was gently criticized by the community for its lackluster story and general lack of direction for players, so Playground Games went back to the drawing board for Forza Horizon 5. FH5 takes players on a journey through the Horizon Adventure to have their name added to the Hall of Fame, and the drive there should be pretty wild.
Here’s everything we know about the story and campaign in Forza Horizon 5:
What are the features & 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 delivers even greater amounts of content to players. The extra year of development Forza Horizon 5 got over previous entries in the series clearly helped things along because there isa lotabout which to talk. 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. FH5’s online features have seen significant improvements to more completely connect players all around the world.
Here’s everything we know about the features and gameplay in Forza Horizon 5:
Game features and visuals
This is 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:
Open world, biomes, and seasons
Forza Horizon 5 has a broad open world to explore, and marks the return of seasons that were introduced in Forza Horizon 4. Forza Horizon 5’s map is also 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:
You can see more screenshots of Forza Horizon 5’s gorgeous world below.
Cars, 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 is the most customizable and inclusive Forza Horizon yet, with nearly infinite replayability thanks to 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.
For even more in-depth information, we’ve compiled complete guides onupgrading cars in Forza Horizon 5, which details everything you need to know about customizing your car and improving upon it. For those that wish to go even deeper, we also have a comprehensive guide ontuning cars in Forza Horizon 5after you finish upgrading them.
Here are the best features about Forza Horizon 5’s car, character, and event customization:
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 makes 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:
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. Forza Horizon 5 features substantial and colossal advancements in audio design and car sounds, and is a notable improvement over its predecessor.
Here’s what you need to know about audio in Forza Horizon 5:
What are the accessibility features in Forza Horizon 5?
Accessibility is always vital in gaming, and investments in the space continue to grow as time goes on. Microsoft, especially, places a lot of importance on accessibility, a trend that continues with Forza Horizon 5. Playground Games has baked a ton of accessibility options and improvements in FH5, some of which include:
What platforms will get Forza Horizon 5?
Forza Horizon 5 is available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. It’s also available day one on Xbox Game Pass. Forza Horizon 5 isnotcoming to other platforms like PlayStation or Nintendo Switch. Here’s everything you need to know about every platform Forza Horizon 5 is available.
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. Forza Horizon 5 is a visual and technical showcase on Xbox Series X|S, with a generally excellent experience all the way around.
Here’s everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox Series X|S
Xbox One
Xbox One consoles may be “last-gen,” but they still have a lot of life left in them. Forza Horizon 5 is available on Xbox One, Xbox One S, and Xbox One X, and it offers a solid experience. Of course, players won’t enjoy nearly the same visual quality and sheer performance of the more powerful Xbox Series X|S consoles or PC, but FH5 is still great on older consoles.
Here’s everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox One:
PC
Microsoft’s newfound and growing support of PC gaming means Forza Horizon 5 (and practically every other Xbox Game Studios title) launched on PC at the same time as Xbox platforms. We’ve broken downeverything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5 on PC, including whether or not your PC can run it, supported features and options,the lack of VR support, and more.
Thebest gaming desktopsandbest gaming laptopswill play Forza Horizon 5 with unparalleled levels of quality and detail, but thebest Forza Horizon 5 PCsspecifically target the game’s requirements for the best experience possible.
Xbox Cloud Gaming (xCloud)
Forza Horizon 5 is available on Xbox Cloud Gaming, previously known as Project xCloud. If you’re not familiar with Xbox Cloud Gaming, it’s included inXbox 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’re not only 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:
When was the release date for Forza Horizon 5?
Forza Horizon 5 released on Nov. 9, 2021, forXbox Series X,Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and PC. Those who preordered Forza Horizon 5 Premium Edition or the Premium Add-Ons Bundle were able to gain early access to Forza Horizon 5 starting on Nov. 5.
Forza Horizon 5 was the latest Xbox Game Studios title to launch simultaneously on Xbox, PC, andXbox Game Pass.Xbox Cloud Gamingplayers on mobile devices were also able to hop behind the wheel on day one. Forza Horizon 5 is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, meaning those who purchase from the Microsoft Store on Xbox or PC will immediately own the game on both platforms.
On Oct. 18, 2021, Playground Games confirmed that Forza Horizon 5 had officially “gone gold.” Effectively, this means the game was feature complete with a “version 1.0” that can be loaded onto discs and prepared for release, and was right in line with FH5 releasing on time. Forza Horizon 5 did suffer from someknown issues and bugsat launch, including aPC crashing issue, and Playground is always working on stabilizing and strengthening the game over time.
If you’re just getting started, ourForza Horizon 5 beginner’s guideincludes tips and tricks to help you find your footing and excel in Forza Horizon 5.
Versions & pricing
Ever since Forza Horizon 5 first became available to preorder, we kept careful track of every edition, DLC, and option you need to be aware of. Our ultimate guide tobuying Forza Horizon 5covers absolutely everything, including all you need to know about why there isn’t a Forza Horizon 5 demo, what editions are available, where you can purchase FH5, and more. There’s also an exclusivelimited-edition FH5 Xbox Controller, which even includes in-game perks, available for preorder.
Forza Horizon 5 isn’t just one of thebest Xbox racing games, it’s also one of thebest Xbox gamesin general. Playground Games have crafted an excellent open-world racing game from every angle, and it’s now available on Xbox and PC.
Forza Horizon 5
Playground Games has delivered its latest masterpiece with Forza Horizon 5, which features the series' most diverse map and largest car list yet. The game continues to grow over time, as well, giving players even more reasons to jump in.
Buy from:Amazon|Xbox
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Forza Horizon 5, in all its entirety, is included in every tier of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, including on Xbox, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming. You can even secure sweet discounts on various FH5 DLC and expansions.
Buy from:Amazon|Xbox
Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter@BoddyZachary.
