The new Forza Horizon 5 is coming to Xbox Series X and S on November 9, 2021, as confirmed during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase at this year’s E3 2021. As expected, the game will be an Xbox exclusive and will be available on Xbox Game Pass on launch day.
According to Mike Brown, Playground Game’s Principle Game Designer, Forza Horizon 5 will be the largest and "most beautiful Forza open-world game yet.” In order to faithfully recreate Mexico, Forza developers even captured 24-hour-long HDR footage of real-life Mexican landscapes to use as a foundation for its in-game environments.
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The stunning in-game footage shows players cruising alone or with friends across a diverse selection of Mexican cities, beaches, deserts, canyons and rainforests.
According to Brown, Forza Horizon 5 will see the introduction of Forza Link, a co-op assistant that will help players form co-op teams by sharing objectives and GPS directions during expeditions.
Xbox’s E3 presentation also gave us a glimpse at some of the cars in the new game, including off-road dune buggies, the Mercedes-AMG Project ONE Forza edition and the iconic Mitsubishi Lancer.
Forza Horizon 5 will feature several different game modes, including a story campaign and a battle royale mode called “The Eliminator.” Additionally, players will be able to compete in a team-based game mode called Piñata Pop, where drivers must trample over as many piñatas as they can in a certain amount of time.
Make sure to buckle in, because Playground Games also confirmed that Forza Horizon 5 will feature Stadium, a game mode that will allow players to design their own mini-games by altering rules and building their own custom maps using in-game assets. It seems to be a remix of a similar idea found in GTA Online.
Previously, we awarded Forza Horizon 4 a top-three spot in our best Xbox Series X games round-up, so we’d expect nothing less from Forza Horizon 5. In our Forza Horizon 4 review, we also gave it our Editor’s Choice badge, naming it “the best Xbox arcade racer.”
And if you’re excited about other upcoming game announcements due to arrive in the coming days, make sure to take a look at the E3 2021 schedule that we’ve prepared for your convenience.
