Forza Horizon 5 Should Come to PlayStation

Simply put, PlayStation 5 has nothing that quite matches Forza Horizon 5.

The Crew Motorfest comes close. By embracing a 'if you can't beat them, join them' philosophy, its full-fledged festival concept makes Motorfest a much closer relative to the Forza Horizon series than its predecessors.

What about Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown? Unfortunately, no. While the Forza Horizon series owes a lot to the pioneering MMO racing of the original Test Drive Unlimited, Solar Crown flew too close to the sun in this regard. An always-online racer with no real single-player mode? The Horizon series has seamlessly blended offline and online play since 2014's Forza Horizon 2!

Need for Speed Unbound? Well, several aspects of Need for Speed's impressive customization options easily surpass Horizon, but Unbound's arcade-style focus on high-speed police chases means it's not truly a direct competitor.

No, the undisputed champion of modern open-world racing is Forza Horizon 5 – and it's now available on PlayStation 5 for the first time. Its vast and stunning Mexican landscape. Its wonderfully satisfying, drift-friendly car handling. Its massive garage of over 900 vehicles that goes far beyond the basics, packed with cult classic cars unavailable in any other racing game. The complete package. PlayStation owners are now diving into all of this, many for the very first time.

Watching the reaction has been a delight.

The development team has been particularly eager to welcome this wave of new players.

“Absolutely, I'm thrilled,” says Playground Games art director Don Arceta. “Brand new players; for many, this will likely be their first experience with a Forza Horizon game. It's incredibly exciting to imagine that and remember our own first moments with Horizon.”

Arceta is especially curious to see what locations and races PlayStation 5 players will build using Forza Horizon 5's extensive Event Lab customization toolkit.

“You'll even find some great Halo-themed content on PlayStation, thanks to the Event Lab props!”

“We now offer over 800 props in the Event Lab. Seeing what the community has already created with these tools and their sheer creativity is astounding,” he adds. “I can't wait to see what PlayStation 5 users build and the creative ideas that emerge from that community.”

“You'll actually get some pretty good Halo content too on the PlayStation, with the event lab props!”

It's great to report that the PlayStation 5 version stands up technically to its Xbox and PC counterparts. This is impressive given the game's massive scope and the fact its engine was previously untested on PlayStation.

“As you might expect, since the series was built around the Xbox ecosystem and architecture, a significant amount of code and engineering was designed for that platform,” explains Arceta. “Bringing it to the PS5 was a major undertaking. It was a huge challenge.”

“The PlayStation 5 version was developed by Panic Button, in partnership with Turn 10 and our team. Panic Button did a phenomenal job. So you get the same high-quality experience found on Xbox and PC – now available on PlayStation, which is a testament to Panic Button's amazing work.”

Personally, I've always considered the Forza series to have the best and most extensive collection of virtual Hot Wheels. No other racing franchise offers such a wide array of strange and amazing cars I desire, alongside a parade of vehicles I never even knew I wanted. As a car enthusiast, I love the thought of an entirely new group of players discovering their dream cars in Forza Horizon 5 – cars that other racing games simply don't offer.

For Playground Games lead game designer David Orton, it's the sheer scope of Forza Horizon 5 that he expects will win over newcomers.

“The breadth of Horizon is truly staggering,” Orton states. “We often see players jump in and find the aspects they truly love. Because the game offers so much freedom, it can genuinely be whatever you want it to be.”

Horizon is a place where everyone is truly welcome, and there's something for everyone.

“We take great pride in giving players that agency and freedom to pursue their interests, and the game rewards them accordingly. I'm really excited for players to discover the full range of content. If you only want to do road racing, or if you're deeply into Rivals and track racing, you can focus entirely on that. If you enjoy taking amazing photos, you can do that. If you love Event Lab and want to create content for others, you can do that too. Horizon is a space where everyone is welcome, and there's something in it for everyone. The idea of players realizing this is more than just a racing game is what excites me most.”

“For me, a success would be hearing players say, 'I can't believe I never played this before,'” says Arceta. “That sense of surprise.”

“That, to me, is a win. Once they're surprised, they're engaged and want to explore further. So I'm really hoping for that. I want to hear about their delight, their astonishment, and their personal stories with the game.”

Here, Orton shares the same sentiment.

“Yes, I think that's it,” he agrees. “Players who've never tried Horizon before – whether due to platform exclusivity or simply never finding the time – finally jumping into this world and discovering it's a warm, welcoming, and fun place, and finding a home in Horizon.”

“New players realizing, 'Wow, how have I missed out on this? This is incredible.' That's a victory in my book. We're about to reach an audience that may have never played a Forza game. There's some uncertainty about how they'll respond, but looking at our track record, we've consistently refined our craft. We're so excited to bring this to PlayStation. I believe we'll attract a whole new generation of players, and that's truly thrilling.”

If any hobby is more divided by loyalty than car culture, it's the rivalry between video game console owners. For racing game fans, however, a major barrier has finally fallen.

Let's hope it isn't the last.