"Forza Horizon 5: A Must-Play on PlayStation"

Simply put, there’s nothing on the PlayStation 5 quite like Forza Horizon 5. This game stands out as the premier open-world racing experience, now available on PlayStation 5 for the very first time.

While The Crew Motorfest comes close, adopting a festival vibe similar to the Forza Horizon series, it still falls short of the mark. On the other hand, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown misses the target. Although the Forza Horizon series owes much to the pioneering MMO racing of the original Test Drive Unlimited, Solar Crown demands an always-online connection with no solo play option—a stark contrast to Forza Horizon's flexibility since Forza Horizon 2 in 2014. As for Need for Speed Unbound, its customization is top-notch, but its focus on high-speed chases sets it apart from Forza Horizon 5's comprehensive racing experience.

Forza Horizon 5 reigns supreme with its expansive and stunning Mexico map, drift-friendly vehicle dynamics, and an impressive garage boasting over 900 cars, including cult favorites not found in other racing games. PlayStation users are now diving into this rich experience, often for the first time, and the reactions have been a joy to observe.

The influx of new players is something the team at Playground Games eagerly anticipated. Art Director Don Arceta shares his excitement: "Yeah, I’m super excited. Like, brand new people; for many, this will probably be the first Forza Horizon game that they’ve ever played. So it’s super exciting just to think about that, and think about what our first Horizon experiences were."

Arceta is particularly enthusiastic about the creativity PlayStation 5 players will bring to the game using the Event Lab's extensive customization tools. "We have over 800 props now in the Event Lab, and just seeing what the community’s done with that feature and mode – and the creativity of the community – it’s just mind blowing," he adds. "I’m super excited, once we get into the PlayStation 5 users, about what they'll build, and the creativity that will come from that community."

"You’ll actually get some pretty good Halo content too on the PlayStation, with the event lab props!"

The port to PlayStation 5 has been technically flawless, matching the quality of the Xbox and PC versions. This is no small feat, given the game's size and the fact that the engine had never been used on PlayStation before. Arceta explains, "As you can imagine, because the series has been based around the Xbox environment and architecture, there’s a lot of code and engineering that’s worked with that. So when we brought it to the PS5, it was no small undertaking. It was quite a huge task."

The PlayStation 5 version was developed by Panic Button in collaboration with Turn 10 and Playground Games. Arceta praises their work: "Panic Button did an amazing job. So you get that amazing, quality experience that you get on Xbox and PC – now you get on the PlayStation, and it’s just amazing work that Panic Button has done."

For car enthusiasts, the Forza series is unparalleled in its variety of vehicles. As a car fan, the prospect of new players discovering their favorite cars in Forza Horizon 5 is thrilling. Lead Game Designer David Orton highlights the game's breadth: "The breadth of Horizon is quite staggering. I think what we find is players go in and find what they really enjoy but, because there’s so much freedom, that can really be whatever you want it to be."

Orton emphasizes the inclusivity of Forza Horizon 5: "Horizon is the space where really everyone is welcome, and there’s something in it for everyone. We always pride ourselves on giving the player that kind of agency and freedom to do whatever they want, and the game will reward them and react in that way. I’m really looking forward to players just discovering the breadth of the content. If you just want to do road racing, or if you’re really into Rivals and track racing, you can totally do that. But if you love taking incredible photos, you can totally do that. If you’re into Event Lab, and you want to create content for other people, you can totally do that."

Arceta hopes for a moment of surprise and engagement from new players: "For me, a victory would be, like, 'I can’t believe I’ve never played this game before.' I think the surprise. That, for me, is a victory, because once they’re surprised, they’re engaged – and they want to learn more. So I’m really looking for that. The delight from players; just hearing their surprise and hearing their stories."

Orton agrees, adding, "Players who’ve never tried Horizon before – whether that’s because it’s on a different platform, or they’ve just never had the time to do it – to actually jump into this world and realise that it’s actually a really warm, welcoming place that’s full of fun, and finding a home at Horizon. Players who’ve never played before realising that, 'Oh my goodness, how have I never played this game before? This is incredible.' That, to me, is a win. We’re about to target a cohort of players who may have never played a Forza title before. There’s a bit of an unknown to how people react to that, but I think when you look at the history of our titles, we’re continually perfecting our craft. We feel so excited to bring this to PlayStation. I think we’re going to bring in a whole load of new players and that’s really exciting."

In the world of gaming and car culture, tribalism is strong. However, for fans of racing games, one significant barrier has been removed with Forza Horizon 5 coming to PlayStation 5. Let’s hope this is just the beginning.