Forza Horizon 5 launched on November 9. It’s hard to believe that a game we waited so long for was released a few days ago at this point. With the launch of the game, millions of gamers will jump into Mexico. Provided how good the last two entries have been in the series, it is no doubt that Forza Horizon 5 will be even better. The game looks awesome on consoles and PC, and upgraded vehicular sounds, a lush and living map, and hundreds of cars at launch will make this a top-ranking game for quite some time after its release.
Platforms
Forza Horizon 5 came to a plethora of platforms. These include Xbox Series X and Series S, the last generation Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows. The game is an Xbox exclusive and thus won’t come to PlayStation. The Xbox Series X runs the game at up to 4K 30fps in the Quality mode and up to 4K 60fps in the Performance Mode. The Series S will also run the game in 30fps in the Quality mode but be limited to 1440p. In the Resolution mode, the Series S can push the game to run at 60fps. On the Xbox One, the game works at low-end console standard — steady 1080p 30fps. Performance and resolutions on the PC depend on hardware. Check out our Forza Horizon 5 system requirements article to ensure your PC is powerful enough to run this title.
Pricing and Editions
Several editions of Forza Horizon 5 are available for purchase. All of them, along with their prices, have been listed below.
| Standard Edition | Deluxe Edition | Premium Edition | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $59.99 | $79.99 | $99.99 |
| Base Game | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Car Pass | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
| Early Access | ✔️ | ||
| Expansion One | ✔️ | ||
| Expansion Two | ✔️ | ||
| Welcome Pack | ✔️ | ||
| VIP Membership | ✔️ |
Here’s our breakdown:
- The Base Game is the complete Mexican adventure of Forza Horizon 5. Playground Games describe their latest as the “most diverse open-world we have ever created”. Forza Horizon 5 is jam-packed with a list of over 525 cars, awesome customization, thousands upon thousands of races, and a sprawling and living open world.
- A perk named Car Pass will add 42 more cars to players’ garages. All of those cars will be delivered weekly, one by one. That means it’ll take ten and a half months to fully acquire the fleet.
- The Early Access perk enabled players to get into the game 4 days early on November 5th. Check the next section for exact launch times.
- The Forza Horizon 5 Expansions Bundle will unlock new areas in the map, new vehicles, and gameplay when they become available.
- The Welcome Pack is an awesome way to kick-start your game. It gives players five special pre-tuned cars, and a one-time grant to win any car from the Autoshow — this is sick! Another thing you’ll acquire is a gifted player house we saw in the previous title. Also, three one-time picks for any rare or common clothing item.
- The VIP Membership helps you stand out in the festival. It gives you double credit rewards in every race, three Forza Edition cars, several vanity items, and bonus Super Wheelspins every week. In one word, it will boost your game progression.
Pricing of Add-Ons
| Add-On Name | Contents | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Treasure Map | 1. Includes the location of every treasure collectible in the open-world | $2.99 |
| Welcome Pack | 1. 5x special pre-tuned cars 2. 1x time grant to win any car from the Autoshow 3. 1x gifted player house 4. 3x one-time for any rare or common clothing item. | $4.99 |
| Expansions Bundle | 1. Expansion One (content TBD) 2. Expansion Two (content TBD) (will contain new locations, new vehicles, and gameplay) | $34.99 |
| VIP Membership | 1. Double credit rewards in every race 2. 3x Forza Edition cars 3. Vanity items 4. Bonus Super Wheelspins every week | $19.99 |
Release Date and Launch Time
Forza Horizon 5 was scheduled for release on 9th November 2021. Most of the audience got into the game on that day. However, the launch time was all over the place. Games follow two strategies on release. Some release on a single time globally. That is usually their hometown’s or country’s time. Other games release simultaneously in their respective time zones. That means the game will launch the earliest in the easternmost time zone and will keep releasing across the globe as the day progresses in each time zone. Forza Horizon 5 followed this second route, and release times varied for different time zones.
Forza Horizon 5 also launched early for players who bought the Premium edition or are on the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate along with the Premium Add-ons Bundle DLC. The Early Access unlocks on 5th November, and just like the November 9 release, launch times were disorderly. However, despite the Early Access launch, the game hasn’t lost its pre-order status. It became generally available for purchase on November 9th. We will list all the times here for your convenience.
November 5 Early Access Launch Times
Xbox / PC
| Region | Launch Time (UTC) | Launch Time (Local) |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1:00 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight AET, November 5 11:30 PM ACT, November 4 |
| Brazil | 3:00 AM UTC, November 5 | Midnight BRT, November 5 11:00 PM AMT, November 4 |
| Canada | 4:00 AM UTC, November 5 | Midnight ET, November 5 |
| China | 4:00 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight CST, November 5 |
| France | 11:00 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight CET, November 5 |
| Germany | 11:00 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight CET, November 5 |
| India | 6:30 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight IST, November 5 |
| Japan | 3:00 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight JST, November 5 |
| Mexico | 5:00 AM UTC, November 5 | Midnight CT, November 5 11:00 PM MT, November 4 10:00 PM PT, November 4 |
| New Zealand | 11:00 AM UTC, November 4 | Midnight AZDT, November 5 |
| Russia | Midnight UTC, November 4 | Midnight ANAT, November 5 11:00 PM SRET, November 4 10:00 PM VLAT, November 4 9:00 PM YAKT, November 4 7:00 PM KRAT, November 4 5:00 PM YEKT, November 4 Midnight MSK, November 5 |
| Singapore | 4:00 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight SGT, November 5 |
| South Africa | 10:00 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight SAST, November 5 |
| South Korea | 3:00 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight KST, November 5 |
| United Arab Emirates | 8:00 PM UTC, November 4 | Midnight GST, November 5 |
| United Kingdom | Midnight UTC, November 5 | Midnight GMT, November 5 |
| United States of America | 4:00 AM UTC, November 5 | Midnight ET, November 5 11:00 AM CT, November 4 10:00 PM MT, November 4 9:00 PM PT, November 4 |
Steam
| Region | Launch Time (UTC) | Launch Time (Local) |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern North America | 4:00 AM UTC, November 5 | Midnight ET, November 5 |
November 9 Final Release Launch Times
Xbox / PC
| Region | Launch Time (UTC) | Launch Time (Local) |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1:00 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight AET, November 9 11:30 PM ACT, November 8 |
| Brazil | 3:00 AM UTC, November 9 | Midnight BRT, November 9 11:00 PM AMT, November 8 |
| Canada | 4:00 AM UTC, November 9 | Midnight ET, November 9 |
| China | 4:00 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight CST, November 9 |
| France | 11:00 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight CET, November 9 |
| Germany | 11:00 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight CET, November 9 |
| India | 6:30 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight IST, November 9 |
| Japan | 3:00 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight JST, November 9 |
| Mexico | 5:00 AM UTC, November 9 | Midnight CT, November 9 11:00 PM MT, November 8 10:00 PM PT, November 8 |
| New Zealand | 11:00 AM UTC, November 8 | Midnight AZDT, November 9 |
| Russia | Midnight UTC, November 8 | Midnight ANAT, November 9 11:00 PM SRET, November 8 10:00 PM VLAT, November 8 9:00 PM YAKT, November 8 7:00 PM KRAT, November 8 5:00 PM YEKT, November 8 Midnight MSK, November 9 |
| Singapore | 4:00 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight SGT, November 9 |
| South Africa | 10:00 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight SAST, November 9 |
| South Korea | 3:00 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight KST, November 9 |
| United Arab Emirates | 8:00 PM UTC, November 8 | Midnight GST, November 9 |
| United Kingdom | Midnight UTC, November 9 | Midnight GMT, November 9 |
| United States of America | 4:00 AM UTC, November 9 | Midnight ET, November 9 11:00 AM CT, November 8 10:00 PM MT, November 8 9:00 PM PT, November 8 |
Steam
| Region | Launch Time (UTC) | Launch Time (Local) |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern North America | 4:00 AM UTC, November 9 | Midnight ET, November 9 |
Download Sizes
Forza Horizon 5 is quite taxing on your SSD or HDD but acceptable for what it brings. The game packs an open world of over 100 km2 of area for exploration, over 500 cars, and a multiplayer experience like never before. It is quite normal that Forza Horizon 5 is massive. Even Grand Theft Auto V, an eight-year-old title at this point, is almost 100 GB on the PC, and this title is slightly larger. We will list the size of Forza Horizon 5 on various consoles below.
- Xbox Series X|S: 103 GB: Forza Horizon 5 takes up a whooping 103 GB on your Xbox Series’ SSD. It also benefits from the size compression techniques deployed with this hyper-fast SSD, making it smaller than the edition available on the Xbox One.
- Xbox One: 116 GB: Forza Horizon 5 is 116 GB on the Xbox One. This is because of the absence of the size compression technology. This will make things hard on the smaller capacity Xbox One, like the original Xbox One 500 GB from 2013.
- PC: 103 GB: Forza Horizon 5 is slightly lighter on the PC, on systems with either SSDs or HDDs. It is still 103 GB, which matches with the size on the Xbox Series X|S.
- Xbox Cloud Gaming: 0 B: Xbox Cloud Gaming is pay-and-play. The game directly streams from the cloud to your device, which means it involves no downloads. It is a great way to start playing the game if you are tight on budget.
- Day One Patch: 21 GB: Forza Horizon 5 also comes with a Day One patch that will fix majority of the issues involved with the game. Every player must download this patch before getting into the game. It will be up to 21 GB depending on which platform you are playing.
Preloading Forza Horizon 5
Microsoft gave players the chance to preload their game. That way, they could join the Mexican adventure as soon as the game launches. Forza Horizon 5 is an enormous game, and it will take a while to download regardless of the platform. Thus, this is a smart and commendable move on the publisher’s side.
Xbox
Forza Horizon 5 was available to preload on both the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X|S. This could be done in a few ways.
- Players who have purchased the game can go to Microsoft Store or the Games & Apps menu and preload their title from there. They can also update their already installed placeholder to stay ready for the game.
- Players who want to play the game through the Xbox Game Pass can preload the game through the Microsoft Store.
- Those who prefer to use their smartphones or tablets can preload it using the Xbox app on their Android or iOS devices.
- Player who have purchased the game on a physical disc can pre-install and update their game through either the Xbox App for mobile devices or the Microsoft Store.
PC
Forza Horizon 5 was also available for preinstalling on both Microsoft Store and Steam.
- Players who have purchased the game can go to Microsoft Store menu and preload their title there. Another option includes updating a previously installed placeholder so it remains ready for the title.
- Players who want to play the game through the Xbox Game Pass can preload the game through the Microsoft Store or the Xbox App for Windows.
- Players who have purchased the game through Steam can preload the game through the Steam Desktop client.
Xbox Cloud Gaming
Players just needed an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and a compatible device at launch. Preinstalling the game isn’t required since it boots up instantly. Therefore, gamers can get into the game without any downloads and the cloud service handles everything.
Once again, Forza Horizon 5 launched on November 9, 2021, for Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.