Forza Horizon 5 is the 5th generation of the 2012 game Forza Horizon developed by Playground Games. It was released in 2021 and is available on Xbox, Windows PC and (new in 2025) Playstation 5. It is highly decorated winning multiple gaming awards and launched to over 10 million players in its first week.
Game Play
Set on closed streets rather than professional race tracks, Forza Horizon 5’s (FH5) open world map is set in a fictional representation of Mexico. It is a very diverse map with an active volcano, jungles, beaches, ancient Mayan temples and towns / cities. Players can explore the open world freely, compete in multiplayer races as well as campaign mode.
There are over 800 cars in the game all of which are customizable in both performance and appearance. Characters are extremely customizable too with accessories, celebrations, clothing, voices and appearance.
The open world experiences local weather too meaning from one side of the map you could see a storm on the other side. Multiple climates appear at the same time. The weather reflects the annual season, for example dust storms will appear in the dry season while tropical storms appear in the fall season.
Cool new features in Forza Horizon 5:
- A new Horizon Arcade is launched in FH5 consisting of a series of mini-multiplayer games which appear across the map.
- EventLab is a toolset in which players can create custom games, races and other things. Create a cool race and it could be featured in a Festival Playlist.
- Forza Link is an AI assistant that tracks the current status of players helping connect players to play online together
- Accolades – not new to FH5 – however there are more than 1800 challenges for players to complete
Expansions
- Hot Wheels was released in July 2022, based upon the scale model cars invented by Elliot Handler in 1968. A new world full of orange tracks, dragons, volcanos, snow and ice.
- Rally Adventure was released in March 2023 brining a new map, a variety of off-road vehicles and a new career mode.
- Various Car packs with perhaps the most iconic being the Fast X featuring vehicles from the 2023 film Fast X