Everything we know about Forza Horizon 5

Forza Horizon 5 brings the wide-open landscapes of Mexico to life and more than enough road to blaze through at breakneck speed.

Today at Microsoft’s E3 2021 showcase, Forza Horizon 5 was announced to much fanfare among fans of the racing genre. As Forza’s likely final title for Xbox One hardware, Microsoft is giving players a sendoff before Turn 10 Studios retools for improved hardware in future titles such as Forza Motorsport 8.

Forza Horizon 5 developer Playground Games is sporting the largest game world in any Forza title, and there will be plenty of content available for speed demons.

Image via Microsoft

Taking the intense racing action to Central America, Forza Horizon 5 will be located among the arid hills and rocky crags of Mexico. In addition to the traditional sports and tuner cars, the trailer featured many heavy-duty offroad-style trucks and SUVs such as the Ford Bronco.

Racing in Forza Horizon 5 will take place amongst the rolling hills and mesas of the country and the tight-cornered streets of Mexico’s metropolitan cities.

Players shouldn’t expect everything to be dry and studded with cacti, though, as vistas also showed jungle surroundings and waterfalls amongst the setting. Even the sandy beaches of the Gulf of Mexico can be seen in the trailer, accompanied by dune buggies attempting to overtake each other, launching from the gentle dunes.

The snowy peaks of the mountain ranges were also not left out, as they took place at the end of the trailer accompanying Forza Horizon 5’s logo. It also appeared as though weather will be taking a larger part in this Forza title, as on top of pouring thunderstorms, the trailer features a massive sandstorm.

As demonstrated in the trailer, Forza Horizon 5 will be fully scalable to 4k resolutions, and all footage from the trailer was captured within the game’s engine.

Playground Games has also commissioned local artists to create much of the graffiti seen in Mexico’s urban areas and has implemented “expeditions” to ensure players explore as much of the game world as possible.

Creative director Mike Brown has emphasized that the Forza Horizon series has always centered on “fun, freedom, and beauty” and that his development team has focused heavily on keeping those aspects alive well in the open-world racing series.

With a massive world enjoyed by several players concurrently and taking place in such a diverse locale, Forza Horizon 5 may prove to be one of the most ambitious entries in the long-running franchise.

Forza Horizon 5 will be available for the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows 10 PCs, and Steam. Owners of Xbox Game Pass will be able to play the game on day one.

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